A Shift in Fate
by RefinedDovah
Summary: All living beings feel the inevitable pull of time and they all fear their own end...but what happens to those individuals that have had their shackles to time severed, and now have nothing but time.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – I do not own anything**

The auroras danced across the sky bringing more elegance to the land. The wind blew, causing the branches of the trees to shuffle their leaves in protest. The trees casting long shadows covering much of the landscape, even with the ever looming moons Secunda and Masser. The shadows did not manage to cover Fort Kastav, the moons shining their light down upon it giving all clear view of all who resided.

Recently it had been attacked by bandits, who had managed to succeed in capturing the fort. Due to too many soldiers and mercenaries have been sent to eradicate the problem, but none have returned. Eventually one of the guards sent a messenger to go and seek the professional. It has been two weeks since the man was sent.

As the moons reached their peak, whistling was heard down the road from the fort. The bandit that stood at the gate, turned and saw a lone figure slowly making his way past the fort. He called out at the figure and slowly approached.

"You there, this is a toll road. If you want to pass you're going to have to pay five-hundred gold septims." He commanded.

The man who wore farmer clothes did nothing except for stopping what he was doing, turned and walked up to the man. The silence was starting unnerving the bandit, so he drew his weapon.

"I not going to ask again!" he shouted. The wanderer reached into his pocket and grabbed a sack full of gold coins, and slowly walked towards the bandit. As he was approaching the wanderer assessed the bandit before him, looking for a weakness.

As he reached the bandit he made a moved his hand towards the bandit with the sack. The bandit put out his hand to receive the gold, which he did receive in no time short. He started counting out the gold pieces when suddenly the gold sack turned into a wooden dagger, and the farmer clothes suddenly disappeared as a spell wore off, leaving behind a man in heavy armor towering over him, with his sword drawn.

The man plunged his sword into the bandit's chest before he could even blink, and swiftly pulled the blade out. And tossing the body to the side, and moving into the fort. Soon the other bandits realized that they were under attack and grabbed their weapons and began to retaliate. Advancing on the bandits, he shouted.

"ZUN HAAL VIIK"

Their weapons were torn from their hands as if they had been burned, leaving them mostly defenseless. Advancing upon his enemies who either charged at him with the daggers they managed to keep, or ran to retrieve their weapons. The hulking man began to easily pick apart those who came at him with their daggers. The other didn't last much longer either, so begging him for mercy or divine intervention.

The man finally reached the chief's quarters, upon arriving he was struck with enough to send him into the wall, with a sickening 'crack'. As two of his ribs broke. As he rose to his feet he felt his strength leach away and was quickly drawn to the source. The chief was a massive orc warrior, encased in Nordic battle armor in his hands was an enchanted Warhammer.

"Ha, so you managed to kill the rest of my camp, such a shame to make it this far and die" The chief began to mock as he approached.

The man quickly dropped his shield and cast a healing spell, it felt strange as his bones began to bind themselves back together. He then charged the berserk chief and reengaged in combat. The chief raises his hammer in the air and performed a downward strike which the man counters with a barrel roll forward.

Every time the orc, tried to hit the man it was expertly parried by the man's sword or a well-performed roll. He was trying and managing to tire the berserk, waiting for the opportune moment to strike a blow. He moved in front a bookshelf and the chief swung his hammer with all his might at the man, only for his hammer to become stuck. He tried to pull the hammer out from the wood, but it was already too late.

The man was behind and slashed the orc's legs so that he could longer move and deliver the killing blow. Which was a horizontal slash through his neck which separated the orcs head from his body sending gouts of blood into the air and onto the floor. His body fell to the ground and it had the occasional twitch.

Turning around the man, went to chiefs bed and grabbed one of the blankets a cleaned off his sword. Approaching the chest near the wall, he opened it and went through what was there. Approximately four thousand gold coins, a few useless weapons, and some ingots. Taking only what he needed, he left the fort and made his way towards Windhelm to report that the chief and his bandits were dealt with.

As he entered the city most of the guards gave nods as he passed by, while the remaining citizens just stared in fear, awe, and respect. As he reached the palace of the kings, he approached the steward, informing him that the deed was done.

"Thank you, for your help Dragonborn, here's your reward," Kelsec Steelfist said as he handed the Dragonborn two hundred septims, which he respectfully refused and suggested he give it to the blacksmith.

"It was no problem, you needed help and I simply carried out the task." The Dragonborn replied as he left the palace. He slowly made his way through the streets and left the city. He departed down the road, getting into a pace he liked, which to most was almost faster than a horse.

After about a day's run, he returned to his home in Whiterun, Breezehome. As he entered his home he went upstairs and opened one of his chests and pulled out some materials needed to sharpen and improve his weapons and fix his armor. He left his house and went to the Skyforge.

When he arrived there he removed his armor, revealing an Imperial. Standing at six foot three inches, he was tall for an Imperial. Staring aimlessly over the city with his emerald eyes.

He began to repair and the dents and cuts in his armor, and then sharpened his sword. As he did so, his mind began to drift away, today was the day he dreaded the most each year, the same day he has dreaded for the past ninety years, the day he bested the First-Born of Akatosh, Alduin.

The day where his life ended.

His mind drifted off to their final meeting in the Sovngarde, the Nordic afterlife. He had arrived in the place where only he could defeat the bringer of the end-times.

 ** _/Flashback/_**

 _As he ran through the mist, that had encompassed the entire area. He witnessed Alduin dive down and grab the souls of fleeing soldiers that had become ensnared in the mist, which he quickly devoured to regain more of his power._

 _He passed the test Tsun gave him, he managed to get the original three Tongues to come and help me defeat Alduin. We charged into the mist and we all used the clear skies shout to the clear area._

 _Alduin came forth and attacked them. After a long-waged battle only he remained to stand against the power of the World-Eater._

 _He charged forth and viciously attacked Alduin's wings. He ducked at the last second before the massive spiked tail swung over his head, quickly rolling to the side as the tail came back down where he previously was. But he was now in front of the dragon-god, and Alduin opened his maw and unleashed his flames. Raising his shield 'Spellbreaker' to block the coming flames._

 _He lunged straight for dragon ducking under more dragon fire. Jumping straight at the head of the dragon and managed to evade the oncoming snap of his jaw and cut his the left eye. Which resulted in a godly shout which slammed him back into a rock. Alduin took advantage of this and picked Dovahkiin up in his talons, bypassing his armor and digging into his flesh and carried him into the air, and then dropped him. Only for him to grab right before he hit the ground._

 _The bastard was toying with him, he sees it in his eye the pure amusement of watching him struggle, to find his own bearings. He finally had enough and took Dovahkiin higher into the sky and released him. His limbs were flailing in random directions and he plummeted towards the ground and shouted._

 _"FEIM ZII GRON"_

 _His body changed from a solid to a gaseous form. He hit the ground without sustaining any damage, and ran to his weapon, Alduin was still circling above him, just waiting for the battle to recommence. Dovahkiin grabbed his sword and turned towards the sky and witnessed Alduin's descent towards the ground. Deciding that it would be time to unleash his soul, Dovahkiin unleashed my Thu'um._

 _"MUL QAH DIIV"_

 _He felt my power increase as well as all his sense became inhumanly sharp, and his Thu'um recharged faster._

 _"I see you have learned the secrets of the First. Tahrodiis mey, Miraak. Treacherous Dragon Priest!" Alduin spoke. "But it will not be enough to save you!"_

 _"Enough! It is time to end you!" He bellowed and unleashed the words that would give him an advantage._

 _"JOOR ZAH FRUL"_

 _As it collided with Alduin, he lost control and plummeted towards the ground. He managed to slow himself to land properly, but Dovahkiin was upon him instantly. Slashing up his entire body with renewed energy and stronger attacks, as he attacked his dragon soul sung with glee as he fought the first born on even terms._

 _"TIID KLO UL" He shouted as time itself bent to his will. He ran around Alduin delivering heavy blows. He could only slowly turn as blades sank deeper and deeper into his flesh. Eventually, the shout wore off and time restarted again, he unleashed frost at him. He ran through the frost and jumped onto his head, he began to thrash around making it harder and harder to maintain a grip. Dovahkiin raised his sword and impaled it into Alduin's skull, he shook him off and shouted into the sky._

 _"Dovahkiin! Zu'u stin hin kopraan nol tiid. Aav hin fron ko vozahlaas!"_

 _"Zu'u unslaad! Zu'u nis oblaan"_

 _Dovahkiin prepared to take his soul, but the 'god's' soul went up into the heavens. And his body exploded blasting him back, towards the bridge. He watched as the pieces of Alduin's body littered the grounds of Sovngarde slowly began to fade away._

 _Tsun approached him and said that this day would be remembered for as long as Sovngarde stands. After our brief conversation sent him back to Nirn. He awoke back in Nirn and was hailed a hero by the land. Life continued, he eventually had to pick a side to join._

 _When he brought an end to the civil war in Windhelm, he promised Ulfric that he would stop the Thalmor. With the death of Ulfric, the Thalmor no longer had an unwilling puppet to cause a civil war to weaken the empire. The Thalmor soon started a second Great War. He managed to get the remaining Stromcloaks to rejoin the Empire, unifying their forces and fight the Thalmor. Which lasted for six years._

 _When the war had ended, realized what exactly Alduin had done to him. His body became ageless. He watched as those around him slowly grow old and begin to perish one by one._

 ** _/End of flashback/_**

He hadn't realized that he had zoned out for such a long period of time. Dawn was soon to rise, the light began to rise on the horizon. With his weapon and armor finished he started making his way towards his house. But decided to go The Bannered Mare for a quick drink, instead.

Marius made his way inside and smiled at Beira the current owner of the Inn. He approached her and asked for the usual drink and paid for it slipping in a few extra coins just because he could. Went and sat down in the corner, and drank his mead in peace, thinking back to all the crazy times he had in here with his comrades.

* * *

Realizing that he had finished his mead he left and went Breezehome to gather some supplies. He grabbed Auriel's bow, his sword, and shield and a variety of arrows. He was off to the Forgotten Vale to go and clear his mind and possibly commune with his father, Akatosh or Auri-El in the Elven religion.

He traveled for four days to arrive at the first Wayshrine, having to deal with the occasional falmer attack or vale sabercats. He used the magical gates inside to travel the rest of the way to the Chantry of Auri-El. He slowly approached the massive elven statue of his father and began to meditate. He sat there for hours, it began snowing at some point but that did not faze him.

His meditation was interrupted by a flash of light and a sudden sensation of being pulled forward and then vertigo. Marius opened his eyes and when they adjusted to the brightness he got up and approached. As he got closer he saw that it was a sphere of some sort giving of a magical signature that he did not recognize.

The magical sphere was beautiful, it was emitting a pulsating emerald light. Marius barely had time to react as it suddenly shot towards him hitting him square in the chest. In another blinding light, he disappeared from Nirn.

* * *

The space around the Menoa tree was crowded with all kinds of elves. From regular elves to elves with fur and scales; all dancing, singing and laughing as they celebrated the Agaetí Blödhren or the Blood-Oath Celebration in the human tongue. They were celebrating in frenzy and madness. The tree was glittering beautifully with thousands of teardrop-shaped flameless lanterns.

The elves had begun to finish presenting their gifts when two elves, Iduna and Nëya the caretakers, came before Eragon and dropped their white robes and exposed their dragon tattoo extending down their bodies. They started to dance, twirling around to the beat of the drum. Faster and faster they went, hair whipping about. Sweat began to coat their bodies, but the beat of the drum only increased and so did their dance.

Suddenly, their tattoo flared with a bright light. It separated itself from the twins, becoming real and hovering above the crowd, its eyes which seemed to be made fire watching all. It roared. The roar was loud and long, challenging the world. As it finished, its gaze settled on Eragon.

The phantom dragon bent down and touched the Eragon's palm. He let an ear-piercing cry as he crashed to the ground unconscious. The spectral dragon disappeared in another flash.

The elves stared at the prone form of the rider. Arya and Oromis rushed forward to check on Eragon. Queen Islanzadí stood there simply observing with a white raven, Blagden, perched on her shoulder.

Jumping from his spot on her shoulder and Blagden began to fly over the crowd. Blagden cried "Wyrda" getting those gathered attentions. The white raven spoke.

 _By beak and bone,_

 _Fate is rewritten._

 _A timeless hero,_

 _Fierce and noble,_

 _Kin of both man and dragon,_

 _A dark soul unshackled,_

 _Salvation or destruction shall they bring._

 _The Last shall find a flame,_

 _Life or Death they will hold,_

 _A choice will be made._

It became eerily quiet as no one dared to make a sound. The entire crowd was absolutely silent at the prophecy that was just spoken.

"Oromis-elda, what does he speak of?" an elf questioned another. Their voice full of fear and concern.

"I do not know, Arya, I do not know..." he trailed off in the end, seeming to be lost deep in thought. But he remembered they had more pressing matters to attend to. "Here help me take Eragon back to his quarters."


	2. Chapter 2

He watched as he passed through the lands of divines and the realms of Oblivion. Some were more desirable than others, but each had its own uniqueness. He had been in some the realms before. Suddenly it all changed, he tried to make sense of what he seeing. But he didn't have the time to do so.

He felt the ground return under him, looking around he noticed that he was no longer in the Forgotten Vale. Upon gazing skyward, he noticed one thing there was only one moon. None of the stars matched the star constellations from Mundus.

Gazing in all directions he caught sight of a large empty plain, covered in scorched earth with fires erupting all over. It almost reminded him of Dagon's Deadlands. He entered the fields and began to look around, seeing a few pieces of scrap metal and bones.

There was a deep roar, and his attention diverted towards the sound and his hand was instantly on the hilt of his sword, there was a dragon was near. It was followed by a blood-curdling scream. One of the fires had been released and some poor sod ended up inside it.

He saw in the distance a large camp, and a horse running in the opposite direction. The horse was without a rider and ran past him. Following the horse with his eyes, turning to follow he saw that it was running into another camp across the plains, which was much larger. 'O _nce again I stumble into the middle of another war_ ' he mused.

His thoughts were interrupted when an arrow suddenly whizzed past him. Followed by the sounds of several other arrows bouncing off his armor, each with a resounding _ping_.

Slowly turning to face his aggressors. He called forth the countless dragon souls that resided within him to the surface, causing his eyes to burn bright gold.

Originally his aggressors thought that perhaps it was one of the king's men. But when they saw his eyes, they took several steps back. Even from the distance between them and their target, they could clearly see the glowing eyes. Those eyes were not _human_.

As he started walking towards them, they prepared another volley of arrows. As he began to increase his pace, they lost their resolve and fired. As they released the arrows he cast an invisibility spell.

The fear rolling of the soldiers increased as he disappeared. Turning in all directions they were trying to find any sign of his whereabouts.

Quickly closing the distance that had remained between them, he grabbed the closest one and covered his mouth and nose. Holding the man until he passed out from the lack of breathing. Letting the man drop to the ground, with a _thud_. The other soldiers turned around and looked at him, before unsheathing their weapons and charging him.

Leaping forward he punched the closest man in the temple, causing him to be rendered unconscious. Pivoting around another soldier he drew his sword and swung at the man, severing the man's sword arm, before kicking him into another soldier. Turning quickly he blocked an incoming attack and unleashed flames from his other hand, killing the man before turning and impaling another man

At the display of magic, the two remaining soldiers turned and fled towards their camps. Screaming about something called a 'S _hade_ '. Casting an invisibility spell he left the area and found a place to rest and laid down to rest. Waiting to observe the coming battle.

* * *

Elsewhere the terrified soldiers run through the camp shouting about a shade. At the news of a possible shade, panic begins to spread through the camp. Drawing the attention of the leaders of the Varden. The two soldiers are brought before the leaders.

"A shade you say." A dark-skinned woman asked the two soldiers from her chair.

"Yes, my lady. We believe it was a shade." One of the soldiers replied, his voice was hoarse from all the shouting.

"Can you describe it then?"

"Yes, lady Nasuada. The armor it wore was black, and within the rivets of the armor, a deep red glow emanated. Spikes protruded from the helmet and the shoulders." The soldier said.

"We shot several arrows at it and they did nothing but bounce harmlessly off. When it turned towards us, we saw its eyes giving off a deep golden glow. When we prepared to fire again it started moving towards us. We shot at it but it vanished before our eyes and reappeared behind and then started attacking. It moved at unreal speeds only an elf or a shade could perform. It showed little mercy as it cut us down. It killed others with magic setting them ablaze." The other soldier continued.

Silence followed as the soldier finished explaining. The possibility of a shade seemed more real after the explanation. The leaders looked at each other then back at the soldiers.

"Thank you. Now go rest for the night we will need you tomorrow." Lady Nasuada spoke. The soldiers bowed and left the tent.

She turned to the other occupants of the room, sighing she spoke, "What do you think? Could we be dealing with a shade?"

"I don't think we are dealing with a shade. But there is still the possibility that whatever it is could be a shade." A woman answered. She had fair skin and long raven-black hair, an angular face with slanting eyebrows, a lithe body frame, piercing forest green eyes and pointed ears. She was an elf.

"Whoever or whatever it is, should it appear during the coming battle, should I attack it?" another voice spoke, though it was male. The male's face was angular and smooth, his skin was pale. He had brown eyes and brown hair and pointed ears.

"Eragon I do not think it would be wise to seek out such an individual." The elf said.

"Arya is right Eragon. Even with all the training, you have done, a shade is no easy task and I need you to remain focused on the rest of the battle." Nasuada paused, "The elves spellcasters can deal with this?" she asked turning her gaze to Arya.

"Yes, I believe that we can deal with this." She said agreeing softly.

"Then I shall see you two tomorrow, hopefully."

Arya and Eragon left the tent, making their way to where Eragon would be resting, passing many individuals who greeted them with "Shadeslayer", "Rider", or "Ambassador".

"I've killed a shade with little magical training. I've been training so I sho-" Eragon began but was cut off by Arya.

"Eragon, while you did kill a shade. You had an opening that was given when he was distracted by me and Saphira. Durza had three spirits that resided within him. If this is a shade they could have even more spirits within them. The elves and I will deal with it and should we need your help, I shall inform you." With that said she left and headed towards her tent to rest while she could.

' _If it is another shade hopefully we can kill it before we lose too many soldiers_.' She mused to herself as she walked to her tent.

* * *

The first rays of sunlight spread across the land, beginning the cycle anew of warming the world. Though such beautiful sights would not be enjoyed on this day.

Cries of battle tore through the air as the two armies clashed. Weapons clashed against one another, others against shields and helms. Ravens and crows circled overhead waiting hungrily for the spoils of war. The metallic smell of iron filled the air with the spilled blood, along with the sweat from the soldiers filled the air as the armies clashed.

Away from the battle the crows and ravens descended onto a dark figure laying on the ground. As they landed they slowly approached the figure. One of the raven's pecked against the figures helmets testing for a reaction. When nothing happened it tried again, getting the same desired effect. The others soon joined and began pecking furiously at the unmoving individual. Making no progress as they tried to get into the armor.

A great roar tore through the battlefield silencing many of the cries of the battling soldiers. The roar jostled the figure awake. Opening his eyes, the Dovahkiin saw that he was covered in crows and ravens. Getting up rather harshly he scared away the winged vermin. He stretched his arms and legs getting the desired pops as he shifted within the armor.

Turning his attention back to the battle taking place before him. He watched as the two armies collided with great ferocity. His eyes drifted to the source of his awakening. The blue dragon in ' _Armor?'_ tore into the ranks of the opposing army biting and clawing at soldiers who tried to wound it. The dragon unleashed a jet of flames blue that consumed dozens of soldiers.

The Dovahkiin sat back down on a mound and watched the battle play out. Hours dragged by and he simply sat there and watched them clash. "While this battle is large. The battle against the Thalmor was much larger much bloodier." He spoke to himself.

As nearing evening, a trumpet sounded and the side with the dragon received reinforcements. Shortly afterward another trumpet was heard from another direction and a boat appeared on the horizon coming up the river which was nearby.

He watched as the dragon took to the skies and flew towards the boat. He watched as the dragon approached the boat and dove from the skies towards it preparing to destroy it. When the dragon suddenly changed course and hovered nearby. After a short time, the dragon flew away from the ship and back to the battle. The boat began to pull over to the side of the river.

The dragon landed on the ground again near the leader of the reinforcements he watched as a man dismounted from the dragon. ' _A dragon rider?_ ' he thought to himself. When the dragon, the rider, and along with the reinforcements returned to battle, decimating the ranks of the red-garbed clothing.

Horns began to echo from behind the red-garbed soldiers, the drums soon followed. The battle stopped for a briefing. He watched as the crows and ravens disappeared from the skies, an ominous figure from the skies another dragon, though it was red.

The blue dragon tore into the sky as it flew towards the red dragon. Shifting from his position he stood up and began to move towards the battlefield. He watched as the two dragons clashed together in the skies, ignoring the approaching battle.

The dragons fell from the skies battling as they descended towards the ground. Disengaging their battle to pull back into the skies to continue their battle.

He changed course to go behind the ranks of the red-garbed army, casting an invisibility spell as he walked past the soldiers with ease. Climbing up a hill to get a better look at the dragons and get a better look at the battle.

Stopping to look back at the dragons and riders right in the sky. He watched as one of the riders jumped from the back of his blue dragon in order to wound the other. Only to be caught by his dragon after injuring their target. They were both forced to land shortly afterward.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he a blade struck against his armor from behind. He spun around and punched his attacker who was garbed in red. Grabbed him and threw him to the ground before him, lifted his leg up and brought it down onto the man's face.

From his vantage point, he watched as two bald men cast magic leading the red-garbed soldiers. Though what they didn't notice was a figure approaching them from the side. The figure was unknown to them, he charged them and swung his hammer into the head of one of them, killing the other shortly after in the same way.

He turned his attention back to the dragons, the riders were no longer fighting but appeared to be talking. One of the riders jumped towards the other but was sent back to the ground from a blast of magic. The blue dragon roared and jumped towards the rider, but froze in the air.

The other rider approached pointed his blade at his opponent's neck. He reached down and took the blade from his downed opponent. He moved back to his red dragon, and they disappeared into the skies. Only after the rider was no longer visible, did the rider and dragon begin to move.

Turning his attention he watched the battle continue, he caught sight of a woman fighting multiple soldiers at once. Though she was being overwhelmed and almost surrounded by numerous of the red-garbed soldiers.

Summoning a bound bow. He notched an arrow, pulled back, time seemed to slow as he took aim and focused on his target and released.

The arrow flew true buried itself into the man's chest. Quickly notching another he sent the arrow into the next soldier. This was followed by several other arrows each killing their target and aided the woman.

Horns were blown in the distance, diverting his attention towards the horns to make sure the dragon and its rider were not returning. But when nothing came, and the soldiers in red fled, he concluded that it was the sign to retreat. Dispelling the bow he turned and began to walk down the hill from the direction he came from.

* * *

Arya had been fighting tirelessly against Galbatorix's forces. As the battle continued throughout the day she slowly began tire. When another dragon had appeared to battle with Saphira and Eragon, a sense of dread had filled her. Arya had become separated from the rest of the Varden troops and was battling against multiple foes. During which the nearly endless amount of soldiers to fight was starting to bring forth another feeling, hopelessness.

The soldiers had managed to circle around her, all were waiting for someone to make the first move. A soldier behind her fell backward with a misty arrow embedded in his chest. The soldiers that surrounded her looked around confused trying to find their attacker. More soldiers dropped to the ground arrows aimed perfectly to make it kill their target in a single shot.

When the horns blew in the distance and the empire began to retreat, Arya began looking for the archer. She opened her mind to try and find the individual that had helped her. As she explored the minds of others trying to find them, she eventually came across the mind of a wounded soldier looking up at a hill nearby. At the top stood a figure dressed in black armor with glowing red lines, the _shade_.

She turned towards the hill, from where she stood she could see that the armored individual, the armor defiantly could belong to shade. Though she could not feel the same presence as Durza had given off when she had been around him.

She started to sprint towards the hill, as she ran she alerted Eragon and the other elves of the shade. Though she couldn't find Eragon's mind.

The shade turned and began to leave the battle, she started to pursue it, hoping that the others will be able to arrive soon enough and aid her. Using her elven speed she began to close the distance between her target and herself. Appearing to have noticed her approach, the figure began to run, faster than a man should be able to in heavy armor.

"Letta" she shouted feeling a drain on her magical energies.

The man froze as the spell took effect. As she continued her approach when the spell shattered in a flash of light and the man was running again, albeit faster than before.

Though she still managed to continue to close the distance between them. She was an arm's length away from grabbing, reaching forward about to grab him.

"Wuld…Nah Kest!"

The man shot forward hundreds of feet and continued to run at a quicker pace before vanishing into thin air.

Arya stopped running and kept her eyes in the direction that man disappeared.

The sounds of elves running towards her to help if need be. The other elves appeared shortly after. They were all looking at her expecting some type of explanation as to why she had stopped her pursuit.

After explaining to them what happened when she pursued the man and how he had easily broken free from her spell and had suddenly crossed hundreds of feet and then simply disappeared. They all gave her shocked faces trying to wrap their heads around it.

They decided that it was time to return to camp and not remain in the open for any remnants of the empire to attack the group, they turned back to the Varden camp and started making their way back.

Arya is the last one to turn and leave. As she began to move to catch up with the others, a familiar deafening sound caught her attention. The dull sound had emanated in the direction the man disappeared. For a second, she thought she imagined it. _Thud_ When the sound repeated itself she turned towards the sounds and what she saw froze her in place.

A massive ruby dragon had taken off into the skies.

Arya couldn't put her thoughts together. The colossal size of the dragon, it would suggest that it was from long before the start of the rider's war. As the dragon gained altitude there was a sudden flash of movement on the neck of the dragon, she caught a glimpse of a figure sitting on the dragon's neck. _A Rider?_ She thought.

The great dragon flew off towards the West and disappeared into the horizon.

After she got over her shock, she began to sprint as fast as she could to Nasuada's tent to speak with Eragon, Nasuada, and the others. When she arrived at the tent and pushed her way in, everyone had stopped because of the commotion and looked at her.

"Arya, what's wrong?" Eragon asked the stark white elf.

She was processing too many thoughts, possibilities and emotions, she was full of shock, and fear, while at the same time joy and hope. Another rider, who rode a massive dragon. She could only form a few words in her current mindset.

"I saw another dragon, along with another _rider_." She spoke softly while having a small fearful yet joyful smile.

* * *

 **Share your thoughts leave a review, trust me it would be greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

Marius was currently leaving the battlefield to get away before they start searching for the wounded and killing all surviving enemies. His enhanced senses caught the sound of feet running towards him, he slightly catching the glance of the elven woman he had aided. She was sprinting towards him and was closing the distance between them with ease. ' _This is the thanks I get?! Damn elves._ ' Coming to the quick conclusion that it would be better off that he does not stick around longer to be interrogated, he picked up the pace and started to run.

He heard her yell some from behind, "Letta!"

'Strange word' He wondered what the word meant. His thoughts came to an abrupt end when his body came to a stop when he suddenly felt like he was thrown into a wall. He tried to move any part of his body, but it remained frozen. In a flash of light, the spell shattered and he resumed running.

He could tell that she was still chasing after him, so he decided it would be time to leave her in the dust.

"Wuld…Nah Kest!"

He shot forward, leaving the elf behind him as he continued to sprint away before casting an invisibility spell to make sure that he could not be followed. Several minutes of sprinting he came across a dense forest. He entered and went deeper into the forest.

Reaching a clearing in the forest, coming to a stop he entered the clearing. Making sure that he wasn't followed he whispered a shout.

"Laas Yah Nir"

A variety of colors filled his vision with the aura of different shapes and sizes. There was a variety of wildlife in the area, deer, foxes, wolves, and birds. But there were no signs of him being followed. He waited a few minutes before repeating the process to do a double take.

He grabbed one of the amulets hanging around his neck and began to chant a pray to the divines praying that what he had planned worked. Fueling his energies into the spell. He didn't have to wait long before a blinding light flashed before him. Raising his hand to shield his eyes while he waited for it to fade away.

When the light had disappeared he was face to face with an old friend. The ruby dragon looked around confused to where he was, his eyes settled on the figure before him.

"Odahviing. It is good to see you again my friend." He said with a smile on his face.

"Dovahkiin, but these are not the skies of vus." Odahviing spoke.

"Indeed, my friend. These are new skies for us both, which brings many new things along with it, and by the looks of it we are in the middle of another war." He paused before continuing, "They appear to be using dragons for combat."

"Then we shall show them that the dov are not steeds!" Odahviing growled.

"While we have seen this before in Tamriel. We are new to this world and do not know anything, we shall wait, listen, and learn."

"Geh thuri. Fent mu kuz wah faal lok"

"Indeed, to the skies." He grinned.

Odahviing lowered his head to allow Marius to climb onto his neck. Once he was seated properly, Odahviing opened his wings and pushed off from the ground, the massive amounts of air being displaced from his wings caused the trees to shift and bend. When they were off the ground Odahviing roared in the exhilaration of being airborne and the thought of a new world with new challenges. Once they were clear of the forest canopy, Odahviing increased his speed and started gaining altitude.

Marius looked over, overjoyed with the breathtaking view he received when he was in the sky. His inner dov craved to be in the sky. Here he was among the others of his kind. He knew when he was up in the skies he was free from the world, free of the people's problems.

From here he could clearly see the scale of the battle that had been waged. The smoke rising into the sky, large numbers of bodies covered the ground, the crows and ravens feasting upon the dead and wounded. The air was sullied with death. Clearing his mind and closing his eyes he laid back and he allowed an easy rest take hold of him.

* * *

When he awoke he found himself laying on a rocky surface. Looking around he saw very little light and conjured a candlelight, taking in the surroundings he found that he was inside a cave.

He started moving around inspecting the cave. It was large enough that Odahviing could fit within the cave and move around easily, with enough space for himself to set something up. Moving towards the exit of the cave, he saw that he was on a mountain range overlooking wide plains, as well as forests scattered about, and a lake to the North-East.

A roar caused him to turn his attention to the right as he saw Odahviing approaching the mountain. Gripped within his talons was a large deer. He moved to the side of the cave and allowed Odahviing to land properly before bringing his kill into the cave. The sound of tearing flesh and bones being snapped as the dragon began to eat his meal.

"You weren't seen were you?" Marius asked. However, the only response he received was growling noises coming from the hungry dragon.

Deciding to leave the dragon to enjoy his meal he left the cave. Running towards the edge, he jumped off and plummeted towards the ground. As he descended he prepared to shout.

"Feim"

His form shimmered and became translucent. When he landed on the ground he received no injury and began to move forward to gather some supplies from the surrounding area. Gathering some wood for a fire as well as killing a few small rabbits along with a fox. He started to climb up the mountain and returned to the cave, where he found Odahviing resting.

Putting the pieces of wood together in a pile he used a simple flame spell to start the fire. Putting pieces of meat on top so they would cook. In the meantime, he used some magic to create a smooth surface on the edge of the cave where he would rest.

After he had eaten the cooked meat. He moved over to the smooth rock bed he had created and laid down and went to rest.

When he awoke he came up with a plan to make a small stone structure within the cave using magic. He spent three days carefully creating a small room within one of the walls of the cave. Everything was mostly made out of stone, save for the pelts he had turned into a blanket along with a pillow. Most of the days Odahviing would be out hunting and observing the land, being careful not be spotted by anyone.

When he had finished furnishing the room, he left the cave to go and find civilization. He had told Odahviing that he would be going to learn about the history of the land and that he would call Odahviing if he was in need of help.

The nearest sign of civilization was a city located on the shore of the lake he had spotted from the cave. He began to make his way towards the city he cast an illusion spell to conceal his armor and weapons and reached the city. When he arrived on the outskirts of a city he was stopped by the guards asking what his business was. He told them that he simply visiting a friend.

He entered the city and began to look around. After speaking to a few of the civilians he learned the name of the city was Belatona. This city was supposedly famed for its renowned craftsmen. He did browse some of these works, they were indeed nice, but they were unlike the many masterpieces he had seen in Nirn.

He asked the residents of the city for information on the land and where he could find anything that could help him understand. They were somewhat helpful, but they directed him to one place where he could find more information. When he arrived at the building he was greeted by an elderly man who asked what he wanted. He told the man that he was simply looking for the history and information about the land. The old man directed him to where they kept all the books and scrolls that held the history of the lands.

He sat down and began reading multiple books and scrolls at once, using magic to help speed up the process of absorbing the information. He learned about the different races that inhabited the land, human, elves, urgals, dwarves, dragons, and many others. He left late that night thanking the old man and asked if he could return to learn more, the man had no quarrel with.

When he returned to the cave he spoke to Odahviing. He had forgotten yesterday to explain to him why they were near a battlefield. He disregarded most of the battle as he was more focused on the dragons and their apparent _riders_. When Odahviing heard about it he was livid, Marius actually had to put himself in the dragons way to prevent him from going to find them and kill them. As they talked about the dragons he brought up the fact that the dragons here apparently had _four_ legs. They were both equally confused and amused at the aspect of dragons having four limbs.

He returned for the next two days to learn more and understand the reasons for the current war. He eventually came across a book that spoke of the dragons and their riders and how the maintained order within the land. Until they were all killed by another rider, the current king Galbatorix. Apparently, the rebels or the Varden were seeking to overthrow the king who has been a curse on these for a century. This man apparently forced his subjects to join his army through magical means making them swear fealty to him.

Leaving the city that night he returned to the cave and shared all the information that he learned with Odahviing. Together they had come to the conclusion that this man was mad and needed to be removed from these lands.

Odahviing suggested that they charge in head first and vanquish the mad king without any hesitation. But Marius reminded him what happened the first time they had met. He had called forth a challenge to him and he had not hesitated to come and do battle, which had resulted in him being captured. Marius suggested that he would go and aid the Varden and that Odahviing would remain hidden until he would be called. Marius did say that he would be across the land he would simply use magic to come back to their cave.

Using some magic, he returned to Belatona and moved towards one of the inns. Upon entering the inn he saw that it wasn't too crowded, and went and sat down a vacant seat. One of the barmaids came over to him asking him if he wanted anything to drink or eat.

Turing the barmaid, "Would you happen to know or have any idea where I might be able to find the Varden?" He asked, reaching into a bag and pulling out a gem, an amethyst.

Taking the gem and bending down, she lowered her voice and she answered, "From what I've heard, they are gathering in Surda, near the Jiet River."

"In that case which direction is the Jiet River, I am unfamiliar with these parts."

"It is south from here. About a two weeks journey by foot."

Thanking her, he finished his drink and he stood up and left the inn. He left through the city gates and began making his way south. He chose not to run at his full speed because it would look suspicious if a man was seen running faster than a horse.

* * *

The sun began to set and the last rays of light danced over the land, refusing to allow the darkness to wrap its hands around the land. The past day had consisted of running and stop to have small rests against trees or simply sitting on the ground. The day spent running had been full of new experiences for him in this strange new world.

While he had been running he had received many curious glances from other travelers and pilgrims. At one point during his run his spell had worn off, his armor and weapons had become visible. He had been passing a group of travelers when the spell had the impeccable timing wearing off. His armor had appeared suddenly and the group he was passing all donned looks of terror on their faces and scattered in all directions. Shouting about demons and evil spirits.

When he stopped running to take a small break, he clearly sees a small town in the distance. Deciding that it would be a good idea to go and get small provisions. Marius changed directions and began to make his way towards the city.

Recasting the illusion spell to conceal his armor and weapons, and he appeared to be wearing one of his house outfits, which consisted of a dark green silk shirt with a black vest along with dark grey pants. Though his sword stayed visible on his hip. Satisfied, he left and jogged all the way to the gates of a city. As he was approaching the gate a guard stopped him.

"Halt, none are permitted to enter the City of Eastcroft. I cannot permit you to enter the city. Unless you want to pay the visitors tax." When the guard had finished taking, causing a memory to resurface. His first time traveling to Riften. One of the gatekeepers had said something similar. He also remembered the guard got nothing out of it because he had called him out.

"Another guard with a sham. Honestly do you people have anything better to do than pick on travelers? Are you going to let me in or am I going to have to make you let me in?"

The man's composure seemed to change when he threatened him and exposed him for trying to get money.

"Okay, okay." He moved back and allowed Marius pass, mumbling something like "Welcome to Eastcroft."

As he entered the small town and he saw an inn not far down the street and moved in that direction. Before entering the inn, he checked himself to make sure his armor was hidden and composed himself and entered.

He quickly noted that this was, in fact, a very busy tavern. This city was most likely a city was used as a resting place between other larger cities. Moving to a vacant seat he sat down and observed the people in the tavern. After a few minutes of waiting one of the barmaids approached him. "What can I get for you? We have got plenty of drinks and food."

Smiling at her, he nodded and answered, "You wouldn't by chance have any ale?"

"Yes we do, would you like anything to eat with that?"

"Yes, I would, simply some bread and cheese would suffice. It would be well appreciated."

The woman nodded and gave a quick smile before turning to another table to get their order. Turning his attention to the others inside the inn.

There were soldiers who were being loud and boisterous, slamming their armored fists on the tables and while acting like pigs grabbing any of the barmaids that passed by. There were bards singing, the instruments they played were out of tune and their voices were not nice to listen too, it was like they were gargling stones. The farmers were causing arguments with one another. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught two figures sitting in a corner. One of which was a young man and the other was a woman.

They were looking nervous, and were constantly looking back at the soldiers and then back one another, but their lips never moved, it was as if they were having a conversation without speaking. He noted that the boy was rather young. He had brown eyes and brown hair. He was lean and had a muscular build. The boy's face was somewhat angular and his skin was rather pale, his jawline was sharp and his cheekbones were prominent. The woman he was sitting with wearing black leather armor with a cloak covering most of her body, her hood removed. She had piercing green eyes and long raven-black hair. She had a lithe frame and had a fair complexion. What most of the people inside didn't realize was that she had a sword on her hip. The woman almost looked exactly like her.

The barmaid approached his table and set down a plate with a loaf of bread and some cheese as well as a tankard of ale. Giving a quick "Thank you" he paid for his meal, giving a little extra to the barmaid. Finishing half of his meal and tankard, he took the remaining bread and casually sent it to his pocket dimension. He got up and approached the duo, as he got closer he felt a slight magical presence emanating from them. As he approached he noticed that they both had tensed when they had noticed him moving towards them. He stopped in front of their table, both pairs of eyes glanced up at him. The boy spoke first.

"What would like?" he sounded quite irritated. Deciding to ignore the tone he had spoken with he answered.

"Forgive my intrusion, but may I ask the ladies name?"

They seemed taken back by his forwardness as well as his politeness. The woman then spoke.

"Why do wish to know my name?"

Her voice was smooth and even, almost musical. Adding that with her pointed features, Marius could only assume that this was an elf and was the one that had tried to prevent him from leaving.

"You have a striking resemblance to someone I met awhile back."

The boy smirked at what he just said.

"I'm sure _she_ does."

He gave a sigh, ' _There's some sort of magical connection to these two, and she most definitely is the elven woman who attacked me'_. Ending his train of thought he excused himself, "Sorry for disturbing you, enjoy the rest of your evening." He turned and went back to the bar asked for some more bread and cheese. Once he received them he turned and he left the inn.

Once he was outside he took a breath of the fresher air and cast a muffle and an invisibility spell. He disappeared and made his way back towards the gate. Climbing over the wall he resumed his running down the down the road due south.

After four hours of running, he came across some large trees and decided to climb one get his bearings. Deciding that he would continue to run in the morning, he sat down a strong branch. He listened to what was around him, there was a pack of wolves somewhere deeper in the forest, along with them he could hear a group of deer moving through the forest. He looked up into the night sky, looking at the lonely moon and bright stars in the sky. Eventually, he allowed himself to relax and went to rest awaiting the dawn.

 **Whew, another chapter. Shoutouts and thanks to those who reviewed, favorited and followed.**

 **I should have another chapter ready soon, depends on if I get around to putting it online...**

 **Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Have a question and or feedback leave a review.**


	4. Chapter 4

Dawn came too soon, the flicker of the light between the leaves blowing in the morning wind. Climbing higher into the tree, he gazed at the rising sun, beautiful scarlet golden rays covered the land. Jumping down from the branch he landed and tucked into a roll, before continuing down the road.

Hours passed as he ran down the road without seeing any travelers. Eventually, he came across a garrison of soldiers who had their weapons drawn, and that have surrounded two people, the two from the tavern, the young man, and the elf. The soldiers were prodding the pair with their weapons, 'Trying to get a reaction no less' he thought.

The captain of the group began to question them, but he was too far away to hear what they were saying. He saw the captain take out a parchment of paper, raising it up and looking at it. He gave a wave of his hands and the soldiers began to move. One of the soldiers poked his spear at the boy's pack, which seemed to anger the boy, as well as alert the rest of the other soldiers.

Before most could perceive what had happened the boy had picked up a stone and thrown it at one of the advancing soldiers, hitting him square in the head killing him instantly. The woman next to him did not hesitate, she began to attack the soldiers around them.

Knowing that they were probably important figures in the Varden. Marius decided to not sit around and watch them die, which he doubted but still could possibly happen if he did not act. "Guess it's just like all those encounters back home." He said to himself. Thinking about all those times where he acted and those where he did not a simply watched from afar.

He charged towards them, unsheathing his sword, knocking over an oblivious soldier and impaling another on his right. The pair looked at him in shock at his sudden appearance. One of the soldiers who was in the right mind attacked, he swung his sword in a downward arc towards him.

"Time to die!" The soldier bellowed.

The blade never reached his target, it shattered prior to hitting the man. His opponent body shimmered suddenly and quickly revealing a large humanoid figure. It was covered head to toe in black armor with crimson highlights in between the armored plates. The armor had spikes mounted on the shoulders, and sharp claws adorned the black gauntlets. As well as six large horn-like spikes on the helmet and was accompanied by eye like sockets.

Giving the figure a malevolent and demonic appearance.

Still, in shock over the entire ordeal, the soldier had no time to react as one of the clawed gauntlets seized him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Those around were stunned both the sight and the fighting ended, both sides stared at the scene before them. ' _The shade?'_ Arya thought to herself.

The gauntlet began to constrict around the man throat, he made gurgling noises as he began to strike the armored figure before him with his fist and legs. But it was futile.

"Wha…W-What are you?" he struggled to get out.

Marius simply tilted his armored head to the side and began to squeeze harder. Pulling him closer he whispered.

"Your executioner."

The man stopped struggling as he went into unconsciousness, but the gauntlet kept on closing. Soon the sound of the man's neck snapping was heard.

The Dovahkiin carelessly threw the corpse to the side and turned his attention to the soldiers before him. They were looking at him with terrified expressions. Tilting his head to the side, he suddenly charged towards them, moving faster than someone wearing heavy armor should be able to.

Getting over the initial shock, the soldiers began to attack him. Blocking the first sword, he embedded his own blade into the nearest man's gut. Pulling out the blade he turned and cut a man's hand off, the man fell to the ground screaming at his lost appendage; ending the screaming man's pain, plunged the blade into him. Hearing another soldier charging him, he caught the blade on the inside of his gauntlet, feeling the leather tear; he snarled and got a grip on the blade pulled it out of its owner's hand and decapitated the man. He ducked under a charging soldier, and flipped him over his back; the man lay on the ground groaning which was silenced by a heavy boot crushing his skull.

Turing he watched as the male and female fought the remaining soldiers dispatching them easily. Unknown to them, one of the soldiers had managed to sneak up behind the woman who was currently in a lock with another soldier. Dashing forward at an inhuman speed he side checked the soldier sending tumbling to the ground, hearing the sound of breaking bones, he moved forward and finished it.

The last man fell to knees begging for his life but was quickly silenced by the young man snapping his neck. The boy turned and spoke some type of language to his companion, he couldn't decipher any of it. Quickly checking around him making sure that they were all dead, then making sure that his defenses were not breached, save for his hand.

Gazing at his bleeding hand, turning around he cast a healing spell feeling his skin knit itself back together. He gave a small chuckle as he thought back to all those times in his early days, where he had been injuries he would have died from if not for his knowledge in restoration magic. He wouldn't call himself a master wizard, but his knowledge of the arcane arts was that of a master spell caster.

Diverting his attention back to pair, noticed the boy was nearly in front of him.

The boy slowly began to approach him, remembering that his helmet was still on he began to remove it. As he moved his arms upwards, the woman tensed suddenly and prepared to attack him. He continued none the less and removed his helmet.

The two both relaxed when they saw that he was simply removing his helmet. Holding the helmet under his left arm.

"Thank you for your aid. We would surely have been killed if you hadn't have stepped in."

Doubting the boy's words. It was obvious that the pair of them seemed to be very cable of taking care of themselves, with or without his help they probably would have won never the less. Getting a good look at the boy. He had brown hair and eyes, slanted eyes and pale skin. He had many elven features, but he was not an elf, perhaps a human-elf hybrid.

"It was nothing. I just helping where I can. Are you by chance going to join the rebels down south?" The boy began to look nervous and his body tensed at the question.

"Because if so you have gained yourselves a companion."

The boy's expression changed to one of relief and nodded then gave him his name.

"I'm Bergan", he stated, putting his arm out

"You can call me Marius" he replied, giving a quick nod. He raised his hand, taking Bergan's hand the hand shaking it. As soon as their hands touched, his body became tense. It was felt like someone had sent electric jolts through his body.

Instinctively, he retracted his hand, opening, and closing after feeling the sensation. Bergan doing the same he looked at his hand. He turned back towards the woman who was glaring daggers at him.

He had had the same sensations before. This sensation only happened when he was in the presence of a dragon or when he was near word walls. Quickly removing his mind from his thoughts he turned his attention back to Bergan.

"I don't believe you introduced the lovely lady, what might be your name be?" he asked.

Surprising the boy with the question, he became all flustered and started mumbling words. He turned to the lady as if he was asking permission to give her name.

"Yes, um, this is… Katrina… she is my betrothed", he spoke with uncertainty.

Turning to the woman ' _Katrina'_ looking at her face, he noticed that her cheeks had turned a shade of pink. She gave another glare at Bergan giving the impression that they would be having a conversation later. She turned away from Bergan and fixated her gaze on him. He didn't get a proper look at her at the inn. Her eyes where the color of a deep green forest, her face was more angular and she was fair skinned, her hair was flowing ever so slightly in the wind, concluding that she was indeed the elven maiden. And that she had been using magic the night in the tavern.

Stepping forward with an outstretched hand to her, he looked into her calculating eyes. Taking his hand she, she appeared to be studying every one of his movements, looking for a flaw or weakness. She proceeded to politely take her hand back and turn to her companion.

"We need to keep moving at a steady pace if we are to make to the Varden," Bergan stated with a tone that expected not to be argued with. "Would that be a problem for you?" He asked.

"No, running shall be no problem for me," Marius replied as he ended the conversation and then bolted down the road.

Eragon looked in shock at how he managed to in heavy armor so easily. Arya having already seen him run at incredible speeds was less shocked but still puzzled. Quickly composing themselves they bolted down the road after him leaving behind the mangled bodies.

The group had gotten a few curious glances when they passed a random wanderer. They ran until the sun began to set, Marius insisted that they travel by night to cover more ground, but he was outvoted by his new _allies_. They made camp near some trees, moving away from the two to give them space.

Setting his back against the trunk of a tree. He removed his sword from his hip and placed it next to his right. As he sat down he pulled out a piece of bread and ate it slowly, as he watched the fire burn the logs, sending up beautiful cinders as the fire slowly ate away. From across the flames, he could almost make out their conversation, something about the Varden, and whether or not to trust him.

He got up and moved away from the duo, moving deeper into the woods. Kneeling down, he began to meditate on some of the words of power. Listening to the wind gently rustle the leaves in the trees, small animals scurrying about. He could feel them watching him. Ignoring them he closed his eyes and his mind drift from word to word, eventually rest claim him, for a few hours of rest.

* * *

During the night, Marius was awoken and began experiencing a slight pressure in the back of his mind. Realizing that someone was trying to get inside his thoughts, he quickly set up his mental defenses. Having experienced this many times, he had trained specifically to not allow others to read his thoughts.

Focusing, he searched for the source of the magic, tracking it back to Bergan. Getting up angrily, he rushed forward to where his was resting. Poking the boy with his feet. The boy opened his eyes and sat up slowly.

"Marius? What's wron-?"

Grabbing Bergan by the shirt and lifting to his feet, and shoving him back a few feet.

"Don't play games with me, boy! I know what you just did, and I know of your magical connection! I know your companion is an elf and your connection to dragons. Do not take me for some stupid fool! You will not entr –"

Bergan punched him square in the jar, and he felt his teeth cut into his cheek. Noticing the boy was stronger than he appeared. He spat out some blood, raising his fists he assumed a brawling stance.

Looking up his caught sight of another punch coming his way, acting on instinct he weaved under the arm, only to be met a quick knee to the face, and feeling his nose breaking. Shaking his head to clear his vision, blood dripping from his nose he lunged forward towards Bergan.

At inhuman speeds, before Bergan could blink, he was in front him threw a fist into his face. Which was followed by a quick jab to the throat from his other hand.

Feeling a slight disturbance in the air beside him, decades of fighting had taught him how what that usually meant, he instinctively lashed out in that direction with a power kick, sending Katrina to the ground.

"Arya!" Bergan shouted. With Bergan's distraction, he quickly moved forward and drought the dagger across his chest. Seeing it at the last moment Bergan tried dodging, but it managed to slightly nick the boy, sending an electrical shock through him; sending him to the ground spasming.

He was suddenly hit in the back with such a force he went face first into the ground, and his dagger falling just out of reach. Rolling over instinctively so he was in a less vulnerable position, he was quickly pinned to the ground by the girl. She was incredibly strong and had managed to pin his arms to the ground on either side of his head.

It was not often that he was in a situation like this, but usually, it would entail killing them with the thu'um. Deciding against that idea, he channeled the souls of countless dragons enhance strength and get out of the position. Using his augmented strength he quickly reversed their position, using left hand to restrain her arms and the other grabbed her neck. He gazed into her eyes, his emerald green staring into her forest green, he saw pain and fear.

Suddenly he felt himself lose control of his inner dragon and all the others had rallied behind it. They were telling him to kill her, break her will and bend her to his own. He knew that this point that his eyes would have shifted color and be glowing. He watched as his hand slowly began to squeeze her neck.

Marius looked down at her and all he was fear, fear of what _he_ was. Managing to regain control over the souls within him for the briefest of moments, he released his hold on her throat. Bringing his free hand up to his temple to alleviate the pain the within his head he looked back at her and saw confusion in her eyes.

It was pure utter chaos within his head. Hundreds of souls within him, each trying to take control of his body. Eventually, the chaos ceased, and he gained full control of his body once again. She lashed out and kicked him in the chest when she had come out of her stupor.

He picked her up and threw her across the camp, hitting a small tree, hearing the sound of her hitting the ground, just as Bergan came back at him from behind, tripping the boy causing him to stumble forward.

Going to retrieve his dagger, he looked back and saw that the woman was approaching near-unconsciousness, and the boy looked just about the same.

"Can we stop and talk about this?" He panted.

Bergan turning around with fury in his eyes.

" _Jierda!_ " he shouted. Not knowing what the word meant, but he did feel a slight drain on the boy's energies, _magic_ he thought. The girl had stood up while leaning against the tree.

"Enough," he said taking a step forward, "There has been a misunderstanding, I do not work for the king!"

Looking at the shock on their faces, he assumed he had said something wrong.

" _Kverst_!" the boy shouted again.

"Enough! You can keep trying to use your magic until you run out, or we can stop this madness and talk like civilized people." He said putting his sword on the ground and raising his hands in a peaceful manner.

Looking confused, Bergan finally blurted out, "So, you're not allied with the king? How do I know I can trust you?"

He almost questioned the peace he just started. "You can trust me… I haven't been the ones lying since we met! I told you my name and what my intentions. I jumped in and aided you in combat against the king's men, and you intensely assume I am the enemy!"

"You attacked first!" Bergan shouted.

"No, I didn't. I came over to you to get answers because you were the one probing my head for no reason, you initiated the fight when you punched me."

He seemed to understand that he was wrong. "I apologize. I have not been honest with you, I only did so to protect myself and my companion."

Deciding that it would they should properly reintroduce themselves the boy gave their true names, "I'm Eragon Shadeslayer, Alagaesia's last free dragon rider."

' _So it was him riding on one of the dragons.'_ he thought to himself, as he gave a look to continue "And she's Arya." Looking back at the elf, he noticed that she was looking at him with fear visible in her eyes. He quickly shook off the feeling of unleashing the souls within him.

He was tired and sore. He grabbed his weapons and went and laid back down on the tree facing away from them. He quickly cast a healing spell to fix his nose and any other injuries. Deciding to follow his lead Eragon and Arya went back to their resting positions. He soon closed his eyes a second time and let darkness claim him, again.

Watching from across the camp, Arya watched the man who overpowered her, she had so many thoughts passing through her brain _' How did he see through my illusion? And what was all of that? What is he? '_

* * *

After several more days of traveling a sea of white tents was seen in the distance. Slowing down to walk Bergan came up next to him.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Didn't say anything about what?"

"You knew that we were lying, and yet you didn't say anything." Eragon elaborated on his train of thought.

"We have a similar end goal, to reach the Varden. If you felt the need to keep your identity a secret, I can't blame you because I have done the same in the past." He said.

Eragon seemed to take his words into consideration. Eragon's mood suddenly changed to a cheery one.

"We made it! Murtagh, Thorn, hundreds of soldiers, Galbatorix's pet magicians, the Ra'zac, none of them could catch us! Ha! How's that for taunting the king? This'll tweak his beard for sure when he hears of it."

Impressed by the fact they had managed to evade so many enemies. He had no clue who half of them were. He was most pleased finding out the king had put such an effort in to find them, and that his plan had failed.

"He will be twice as dangerous then," Arya said, killing the mood.

Ignoring whatever Eragon was going to say next, he turned his attention forward. Looking towards the camp he noticed approaching horsemen, finally arriving at the Varden he was looking forward to joining the action. Taking a few paces forward, his soul began to scream, there was a dragon in the area. His pulse began to quicken, adrenaline firing through him. Turing his gaze skyward.

The sapphire dragon dove out the clouds. Spiraling through the air, he watched as it tucked its wings in, and let loose a stream of blue flame. Causing the horse to buckle and protest to standing still.

Realizing that the dragon hadn't spoken the words of power. He guessed perhaps that the dragon was possibly strong enough to do so without the words. The dragon landed on the ground causing the ground to shake, Eragon and Arya stumbled a little, while he just changed his footing, having experienced many such landings, some most even greater than that. His instincts told him to reach for his sword, following them his hand found itself wrapped around the hilt of his sword just in case. Which did not go unnoticed by Arya.

Folding its wings, the dragon began to approach, there was something graceful about the way it moved. It immediately told him that the dragon was, in fact, a 'she'. Where he was from there weren't any female dragons, as far as he knew. But quickly dropping the subject because he was in a different world, thinking to himself _'Different world, different rules'_.

Eragon ran forward to the dragon, climbing up and onto the neck he gave it a hug, thinking back to dragons he knew and how much he thought that it was a terrible idea. The dragon didn't seem to be angry at him, it seemed rather satisfied to see him.

"Greetings, Saphira," said Arya, putting her hand on her chest in a strange manner.

Judging by the name ' _Saphira_ ', what a strange name for a dragon he thought, but it suited the dragon. Also, the name confirmed his suspicions that it was indeed a female dragon. Not knowing a formal greeting between dragons of this world. Deciding it would probably easier just to go with a simple greeting.

"Greetings, dragon."

The dragon turned its attention towards him. The brief of seconds their eyes locked, and he had trouble restraining his inner dragon. Surprising him, the dragon spoke to him in this mind.

" _Greetings, human."_

Looking shocked that the dragon spoke in his mind, he stared at it. He did not like it when people spoke into his mind without his knowledge.

"Surprised?" Eragon asked, "You didn't take her for a mindless beast?"

"No… no, that not the reason, just wasn't expect her to speak in my head."

His answer seemed to amuse Eragon.

"What did you expect her to open her jaws and speak like us?"

"I have just never had to worry about how to address a dragon."

Eragon's mood seemed to darken, as he finished speaking.

"It's all the king's fault, he brought an end to the time of dragons that once flourished the land. When he is dead I will see those times returned."

Looking at the boy in a new light, the way he was thinking admirable. Looking back at the dragon, he tightened his grip on his blade.

"You fear them, just like all. But you don't look at the beauty of them."

Never mind, this _boy_ had no idea what he was talking about. Feeling his anger spike at the words he just spoke. This boy knew nothing about what he feared, he had faced dragons much larger than Saphira and had won those battles, along with the _World Eater_ himself. He did not fear them he just didn't trust them, after years of experience, he had learned their strengths and weaknesses. He had watched countless dragons glide through the sky, while his soul longed to be up there with them.

Before he could give Eragon a piece of his mind. He was approached by men, they told him that Eragon had instructed them to take him to a tent, where he would wait to be given instruction.

They lead him to a simple tent, entering he found a bedroll and a medium sized chest, with a plate of food on it. He grabbed the plate and sat down on the chest, and ate them quickly. Deciding not to remove his armor, he crawled into the bedroll and rested.


	5. Chapter 5

Marius was awoken by rays of sunlight finding their way into his tent, blinding him. Grumbling as he got up and stretched his limbs. He went outside and was instantly greeted by a _courier_ , who stated that he was to report to the leader's tent, as soon as possible. ' _Damn how do these guys keep finding me?_ ' Wanting to keep his magic hidden Marius went back inside and called forth some bread and ate it before leaving to find leader's tent.

The tent was easy to find, to start off it was much larger than all the other tents, as well as red and had multiple guards surrounding it.

Some of the guards were of a species that he had read about. They looked like orcs, only much bigger and had more horns, ' _Urgals_ '. Another was a species was that of men half his size, perhaps they just had little people here, ' _Dwarves_ ' they looked nothing like the descriptions of the dwarves of his homeland. The dwarves of his land were mer and not in fact short. He was doomed if he didn't figure out what to do around the races, while the books he had read from had help describe them it did little to describe how to act around them, he might accidentally insult one of the many races of the land.

Heading for the entry, one of the Urgals stopped him and asked.

"Who goes there?"

"I am Marius, a messenger came by tent this morning and informed me that your leader wished to speak to me."

Turning towards the tent, the man bellowed.

"A man by the name Marius seeks an audience with you Lady Nightstaker."

"He may enter", came a voice inside.

Entering, he looked for the one they called Nightstaker. The woman sat in a large chair, her tent was basically empty, aside from the furniture which consisted of a mirror, a table with many chairs lined up. There were more guards on the inside just like he suspected.

The woman had ebony skin and dark curly hair, not looking that much different from the Redguards of Tamriel. On one of her arms was wrapped in many layers on linen bandages.

"Greetings," he said, "You sent for me."

Her face became angry, wondering if he had said something wrong. The closest guard to him quickly cleared up the problem.

"Do you not bow to your superiors, ruffian?"

He didn't, in fact, bow to his superiors. He was not one of those to bend the knee and lick the boots of those who held a seat of power. Most of the time, it was the high-folk came to him for help and they were groveling at his feet because they couldn't solve their problems by themselves. Besides, he was a dragon in everything but his body, and dragons do not bow.

"I do not bow", he said cheekily smiling, "And it goes against everything I am, so I will not. Unless, of course, you happen to be my father. Though, I still have yet to bow to him. However, most leaders are not beautiful women." He said by placing his hand near his dagger.

The guard made a move to attack, but Lady Nightstaker raised her hand to stop, and her eyes narrowed at him.

"Eragon told me that might you might resent that idea and of your snaked tongue."

"Did he now?" he said smirking.

If looks could kill he would be lying on the ground.

"Eragon told me of your deeds. You helped him fight the empire's soldiers, but you also attacked him and Arya."

That wasn't the entire truth, but he let her finish her anyway.

"Marius, I do not know what to think of you, and I can't be too cautious about who I let into the Varden. The one way I know where your loyalties lie is to have one of our mages check your mind. If you do not resist, it will be quick and painless, and you'll be allowed to join the Varden after you swear an oath of fealty."

"Lady Nightstaker, you think I would let anyone one of your petty little mages into my head. I suggest you rethink your plan. Whose idea was it to have my mind probed, Eragon? No, wait it was the elf!" He spoke with a calm voice.

"I haven't even been here a day, and so far I have been assaulted, physically and mentally, by both you and your dragon rider. I came here to aid you in the battle against Galbatorix. I have done nothing to you to warrant such actions. Perhaps the king will be more welcoming because I currently hold no allegiance to the Varden, I can easily put my talents elsewhere. Every time you insult me, the closer I am to leaving and joining the king, an-'

He was cut off by the sound of the tent flap opening, and a little girl walking in while laughing. Looking at her, he noticed that she had vibrant violet eyes and a strange marking on her forehead.

"He does have a point you know, Nasuada." The child spoke, but with a woman's voice not that of a child's.

She walked in his direction, stopping in front of him and looking into his eyes.

"So much pain in this one," she started, "such great lose, and an even greater battle within."

Sensing where she was going, he sent the girl a quick warm smile. ' _How did she know? What does she know?'_ His mind was flying all over the place, as his thoughts of questions flew through his head. He decides to ask that question in a less _exposed_ place, eyeing the Lady Nightstaker or Nasuada with distrust.

Bending down to a knee so that he was at her level he said "No need to fear for me little one, I've suffered worse and come back better."

One of the guards outside called out to Lady Nasuada.

"My lady, Greta the caretaker request an audience."

"Let her through."

She turned her attention back to him.

"Marius we will continue our conversation another time, I have more pressing matters that require my attention." She quickly added, "As well I would like you to return here tomorrow so that we may test you."

As she finished talking an elderly woman entered the tent. Marius stood and began to leave when he felt something small and warm grab his hand and gave it a tug. Looking down you see that Elva had grabbed his hand.

"Stay, please."

"Elva, this does not concern him," Nasuada said.

"The matter concerns me, and I want him to stay."

Turning his gaze back down to Elva and giving a calm smile, "I will stay little one." Hearing this she smiled up at him.

Before Nasuada could continue, his least favorite people among the Varden entered the tent. Eragon was followed by a woman with curly brown hair.

"You are late", said Nasuada as Eragon and the woman moved to find a place to sit. It dawned upon him that he was the only one who remained standing, moved quickly and found a seat.

Lady Nasuada told Elva of her importance to the Varden and how she could be the turning point in battles yet to come. Elva had been cursed as a baby by Eragon, who had been trying to give a blessing. The curse made her feel all the pain of those around her. What made matters worse, was that Nasuada wanted Elva to keep the curse in order to help them in the war. He was disgusted. They wanted to use the child in such terrible ways.

Nasuada spoke again, trying to appeal to Elva sentiments, the ones that had been robbed from her by Eragon's _blessing_. When she had finished, Elva raised her head and simply said, "No."

He was proud of her for refusing them, she did not deserve any of this. She spoke of her suffering and how much it affected her if she tried to refuse. How she had been shunned by all those around her. When she finished he had been horrified, she hadn't even celebrated her second birthday.

They tried again and again to convince her. Finally realizing that they could not convince her, Eragon stepped forward to remove the curse.

After several minutes of Eragon trying to remove the curse, he failed to remove the curse and he gave up. In an unexpected twist, Elva realized that she could now ignore the side effects. The shock that Elva was no longer bound to them, was shown on Eragon and Nasuada's faces.

It bothered him that Elva still could not have the closure she sought. A stray thought occurred to him. Elva turned to leave and he rose from his seat to intercept her.

"Wait, Durkiir." She stopped and turned to face him.

"Yes?" she said.

"I might know a way to give you peace, but it will only last temporarily." As she looked up at him, her eyes showed signs of hope.

"Do it." she said, her voice faltering.

Kneeling down to her level, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace. Not wanting the other occupants of the room to hear the words. Ever so slowly her petit arms moved to embrace him. Bringing his lips near her ear and whispered.

"Kaan Drem Ov!"

He felt Elva instantly relax in his arms as his shout washed over her. The goddess' blessing was normally used to tame wild beast for a short while. The same effect could be achieved by simply changing the words. They remained like that, for a couple of minutes, absolute silence the entire time. She suddenly stiffened again, the blessing had reached its end. She removed herself from his embrace and smiled up at him, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Thank you", she said, knowing full well that she was being honest. She then turned to Nasuada.

"Nasuada? If you wish for my aid in this war then I have a few things I want in return. First, he stays, and no mind reading." She paused, before giving a cruel smile, "I will give you my other demands when I see to fit to use them."

With that said she left the tent. Nasuada had shock and disbelief written all over her face. Eragon was stiff from the shock of the girl's previous verbal attack. Quietly chuckling to himself, he started leaving but he walked into Arya, who had just entered. This caused her to fall backward due to his momentum. Acting quickly he offered his hand to her, she took the presented hand. Pulling her up and mumbling apologies, giving a quick smile and exited the tent.

He went straight to the nearest training area. As he arrived there he went to the nearest dummy. Draw his sword, he began with the standard attack's movements, followed by his own variations. He was moving around the dummy, with the elegance that an elf could envy, as he prolonged the practice he slowly started increasing his speed.

An hour had passed, he had finally gotten bored with training. He noticed that many soldiers had been watching him train, staying here any longer would draw unwanted attention to him. He made his way back to his tent.

Upon arrival he removed his armor and placed in it the chest along with his weapons, changing out his regular clothes. He kneeled down and began to meditate to calm his soul and the words of power. He remembered what his master Paarthurnax has said, " _Doc wahlaan fah rel. We were made to dominate. The will to power is in our blood. You feel it in yourself, do you not?_ "

Being in close quarters with a friendly dragoness was one of the strangest things that had ever happened to him. He felt his need to combat the dragoness and show her the power of the thu'um. Thinking of his old master, it summoned up wrath that he had thought he had long since forgotten.

Shortly after the defeat of Alduin, the blades had confronted him about Paarthurnax. They told him of his atrocities during the time of the dragon cult, and that he deserved to die because of them. If he did not kill his master that they would no longer aid him.

He had refused to kill Paarthurnax and he banished them from Sky Haven Temple. He would return to the throat of the world and find the body of his master. Seeking to avenge his master, he spent nearly two years hunting them all across Tamriel, until he killed them both. He had gone deep into mediation after avenging his master, he spent months looking into the deeper meaning of every word of power he knew. He sat there for an hour before, he fell arrest while still mediating.

Awakening, he slowly got up, donned his armor and placed his sword on his belt, and left his tent. As he began to walk to the training area he mused to himself. _'Wonder what I am going to be doing to prove my worth.'_

Getting rid of those thoughts as he arrived at the training area. He noticed that a fairly large space had been cleared out. In the surrounding area, he saw Eragon and some elves with him. As well as Saphira, who appeared to be quite bored. The crowd also housed a large number of nobles and commanders, acting chummily with Eragon. ' _Bluebloods, bloody boot lickers the lot of them',_ Nasuada was waiting there, along with her guards.

"Hello, Marius. Thank you for coming." Nasuada spoke.

The talking soon ended as Nasuada announced his presence, the crowd's attention was quickly diverted towards him. Some of the crowd were shocked at how he was dressed.

"We will be testing you today." She started, "This is the reason why we are here today. You will be doing battle against Arya. This is merely a sparring match, not to the death."

Giving them a nod, and moved to the chosen area.

Arya walked into the area, they drew their blades and took up their battles stances. They stood a good distance apart. All attention had been given to the fight that was about to happen.

"Begin!" Shouted Nasuada.

Wasting no time Arya ran at him to deliver the strike. As she ran she was almost a blur to most of those gathered.

Marius had experienced many fights where the odds were stacked against, back when he started. But due to nearly a century of fighting, such battles had become increasingly rare occurrences. Twisting to the side, he brought up his sword block her attack and followed through with his own. Only for it to be blocked by her blade, before she created distance between them.

Rushing towards her with his sword at the ready, he brought it down, only to be blocked and paired. Rolling under the elf's counter, coming up behind her. He stabbed forwards, only to be met with air. Swinging his sword to the right, he deflected her sword. She struck again, swing her sword from the side, pushing her blade to the side he closed the distance between them. Their blades met at a deadlock, punching her in the stomach with his free hand. She pulled back, as he swung his sword, pushing her blade to the side.

He attacked again, bringing his sword up to slash only to quickly lunge at her. Only to receive, a kick to the chest. Barely flinching, he swung his sword again, leaving an opening for her attack. Bringing her blade across his armor, leaving barely small scratch against it. Before bringing her blade back around to attack again.

Bringing his blade down, he hit her cross guard. It became clear that this fight was getting nowhere, pulling his arm back to put as much force possible into his next attack. In doing so he created a large opening.

Taking the chance, Arya thrust her sword forward. Marius turned his body to the side and swung his blade upwards sending her blade up, before Kicking out one of her legs, sending her to the ground. Pressing his advantage, he brought his sword down on her.

"Enough!" Nasuada shouted.

His blade stopped over Arya's heart, hers had found its way over his own.

Neither willing to back down, they held their position, cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. Arya stood up and sheathed her blade, following her example, he sheathed his blade as well. Turning to Lady Nasuada.

"Arya, what do you think?"

Curious to see what the elf had to say, he turned his head to her.

"He fights well, even though…he's human." Arya stated. _'You fought well, for an elf. Maybe I should not have held back'_ he thought.

"Very well. Marius, I welcome you to the Varden, you may return to your tent."

Giving a nod, he turned to leave the training area, before turning his head slightly to the side and spoke aloud, "Don't expect me to be a pawn or any type of puppet." Before continuing to leave the area and return to the tent.

Arriving at his tent he sat down and cleared his mind of the battle. He didn't know how long he sat there but he felt another presence in the room, opening his eyes and see a familiar figure standing in front of him, Elva.

She had spent the twenty minutes watching him sitting there meditating, she wondered if he knew she was there the entire time but chose not to acknowledge her entry. When his eyes finally opened she spoke without hesitation.

"I came to see if you were adjusting… properly."

Thinking about how to properly phrase his words, he answered "I could be more comfortable… but this is not the first war I have been in, and it most likely won't be the last. You eventually get used to not having a lot."

Remembering what she said early, he decided to start asking questions.

"How much do you know?"

She stared at him, trying to put her many thoughts in order to answer.

"What I saw was that you are a stranger to this world. Also that you bear the weight of many heavy burdens."

"I would like it if you didn't go into my head. There are things in there that I would not like anyone to know at the moment."

"I can do that for you, but don't think you can keep secrets from everyone, least of all me for long."

"I figured as much. But I will share my secrets when the time is right."

"Fine, I will not look for answers anymore." She said looking disappointed. Deciding to give her a bone he told her some things.

"Yes I carry many burdens, but I do not let them define me. Yes, I am from another world; Nirn to be specific, but the rest is for another time."

There was a cry coming from outside, which peeked the Dovahkiin's attention, moving towards the entrance he saw a woman walking around shouting.

"Elva! Where are you Elva?"

"Is that a friend of yours?" He asked with a smirk.

"Ya, I guess you could call her that…" she said with a hushed tone.

"What her name?"

Taking her sweet time she answered.

"That would be Angela…"

"Angela?" he questioned, puzzled.

"She is a witch and herbalist." She explained.

' _Perhaps we could discuss alchemy'_ he thought.

The shouting got louder as ' _Angela_ ' approached. Turing she saw Elva standing next to him.

"Elva! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Well, I was seeing our new guest, Marius."

Looking back at the man, who gave a nod saying that she was telling her the truth. Looking back to Elva, she said.

"Well I was just looking for you, Nasuada wishes to speak with you."

"It seems as though, your needed elsewhere little one'

Looking back at him, Elva said that they could talk later if he wanted over a game and said her goodbyes. Turning to return to his tent, his entire frame went ridged, both sets of eyes stopped and looked at him. There was a feeling deep within him that told him something awful was going to happen soon. Looking to the East he could feel great hatred and anger approaching, and his soul began to sing. Elva put her hand on her forehead near the mark and said the word that set things into motion. " _Dragon!_ "

Sprinting into his tent he quickly called forth his daedric armor, fastening the straps to his body; making sure they wouldn't come to lose during the battle. As he was finishing the last one, a warning horn rang throughout the camp, and the Varden war drums began. Picking up his shield _'Old habits die hard'_ he thought to himself and grabbed his sword and moved for the exit.

Outside there was nothing but chaos, soldiers scrambling to their tents to retrieve their weapons and armor, running to their battle positions. Moving towards the increasingly negative feeling, he sprinted through the masses, trying his best to plowing into a soldier. He could see a hoard of soldiers approaching, not enough to be a full-scale attack, his gut told him that it was most likely a distraction.

Looking to the skies, he saw there was a blood red dot moving along the sheet-like clouds. The dot was steadily growing in the skies, it was no doubt a dragon. He could see the edge of the camp, where he could see Eragon mounting Saphira, running in that direction he noticed that Nasuada and Arya stood near.

As he arrived, he saw Eragon and Saphira take flight, he got a few glances from some of the other soldiers. Standing amongst the soldiers, there were several elves, they were varying in looks, but he had concentrate.

"Why are you here?" Arya demanded angrily.

"Besides the obvious? I'm here to fight, and there's a dragon!" he answered quickly.

She looked at him in disbelief, but quickly masked it and Nasuada grabbed his attention.

"Then you will help defend the Varden," Nasuada said.

He nodded and looked up into the sky, the two dragons faced each other. To his eyes, it would appear that the two riders were talking. The dragons were similar in size, but Saphira was the larger of the two and held the advantage. Seeming like nothing was going to happen, he turned his attention to the advancing army.

Both sides were waiting for the dragons to start the battle. With a roar, the two dragons flew at each other and clashed in the sky. The way that they battled was intense but graceful in its own way. Claws and teeth ripping at each other, the riders had a fight of their own. Saphira clawed at the other dragon's wing, leaving deep wounds in the membrane. Blood seeped from the wounds and rained down to the ground.

Turing his attention back to the charging army, he unsheathed his sword and charged, followed by others. He led the attack, as he was nearing the hoard of soldiers he unleashed the thu'um.

 _"Wuld Nah Kest!"_

He flew at incredible speeds and barrelled through the enemy ranks, knocking down many of them. Many of those following him looked at him in shock. When he stopped, he turned to his right and blocked a downward strike with his shield. Thrusting his sword forward into the man's gut. Another soldier attacked from behind, but he rolled forward and bashed the nearest man.

Parry, slash, block, parry, kick. He was moving through the soldier easily. They posed little threat to him alone, he would ward off the attack like they were nothing and kill them. If they decided to attack in unison they could probably do something. The Varden was doing a fine job at fighting the army. He bashed another soldier, disorienting him and slashing the man's neck.

He finished the group he was fighting, and Varden soldiers passed him, continuing the battle. He looked back to the sky, the two dragons were still at each other's throat, but the red dragon had the advantage, the riders casting magic at each other. Looking back he saw that the elves including Arya were mouthing the same thing, feeling their magic flow to Eragon for support.

Looking back up, he saw that the other rider had managed to get along gash across Saphira's neck. Loud cries filled the air, as she and Eragon broke off the attack. The elves started falling to the ground appearing to have depleted all their energies. He did the one thing he could do from this distance to help Saphira and Eragon, he shouted.

 _"Joor Zah Frul!"_

He watched as the dragonrend shout collided with the red dragon, causing the blue energy to leech off of it. The dragon let out a scream of pain and agony and broke off its attack against Eragon and Saphira, as it plummeted towards the ground, at breathtaking speed. Its wings had become useless, the shout had made sure that the dragon would crash into the ground.

The rider was able to slow their descent by casting a spell, but it wasn't enough to stop them. They still hit the ground and formed at small crater from their speed and weight. Running towards them, he gripped his sword tighter as the chanting in his head grew stronger as he approached. Looking at the rider, he saw that he looked exhausted from using that kind of magic.

The dragon turned to him and unleashed a stream of flames. Raising the Spellbreaker in front of him, it's ward activated and absorbed the flames, while he kept running, unharmed. As the flames finished, he jumped forward and landed on the dragons head. It shook its head violently, trying to throw him off, but he was used to this so he grabbed hold of a horn.

Looking across the battlefield Arya watched as Marius, knocked a dragon out of the sky and had then charged into the dragon's flames, coming out unscathed. He was climbing onto the dragon without a problem and moving towards Murtagh.

Moving towards the rider, he pointed his sword in their direction, suddenly the dragon took flight, and he was forced to grab the nearest hold. The dragon began performing air acrobatics to try and rid it of its unwanted passenger, it tried barrel rolls and dives, but it was no use.

The dragon suddenly evened out, and the rider began moving towards him. Pulling himself upright, he pointed his blade toward the rider.

"If I am to fight you, might I know your name?" he asked putting the Spellbreaker in his pocket realm of oblivion.

"I am Murtagh." He said suddenly slashing at him.

The two lunged forward and their blades clashed, creating sparks where they met. Every time Murtagh attacked him, it was blocked by his sword. He was starting to enjoy the battle and his soul sang with battle lust, and the need and want to dominate those around him.

Using the power within himself, the dragon inside him and many others took hold of the reins. He moved forward at a speed that Murtagh could hardly see. He swung his sword, which blocked by the shining crimson blade. Murtagh seeing an opportunity to use his magic shouted.

" _Brisingr_ " and his blade burst into flames.

The flames were a shock to the Dovahkiin, it was but a moment Murtagh needed. He swung his sword at Marius. The attack struck true, thanks to his armor the attack only slightly winded him and would do little to stop him. Charging up a frost spell his hand lunged forward and grabbed the blade, releasing the spell on the sword dousing the flames, leaving a stunned opponent. Quickly changing up another spell he sent an electrical current into the blade, which traveled up into the wielder. Murtagh dropped his guard, and received a punch to the face, sending his head reeling back.

Moving forward and placing the tip of the blade against Murtagh's throat.

"The battle is over surrender now, and your life and that of your dragon might be spared"

Murtagh stared at the man that had bested him and appeared to not be afraid of dragons. Sending a telepathic message to his dragon _'Drop from the skies'_ he quickly grabbed on to the saddle attached to his dragon.

The scarlet dragon dropped from the skies, and the Dovahkiin grabbed onto the saddle and held on as tightly as he could. There was suddenly a pain in his lower back and let out a painful cry. He grabbed the satchel next to him pulling it free, he let go of his hold on the dragon, and fell from the back of the dragon and plummeted towards the ground. Doing the one thing to prevent any further harm he shouted.

 _"Feim!"_

He hit the ground and tucked into a roll without sustaining any damage, he looked up and saw the red dragon fleeing, being followed by what was left of their army.

His ghostly form returned back to its solid form and began walking back to camp. Quickly sending the satchel to his pocket dimension. As he was passing by the elves, he received many different looks, fear, anger, confusion, and doubt. His vision began to have little black dots and he collapsed to the ground, and then he saw the elves running to him, and then nothing but darkness. _'Oh, shit..._ ' was the last thing that passed through his mind.

' _ **Fin** ally..._'

* * *

Arya approached she saw the dagger sticking out from his lower back and pulled it out. Looking at the punctured area she saw that the skin around the area was being slowly eaten away. Quickly realizing what it was, she informed the other elves. They began to move him so they could stop the effect of the poison but were stopped by Nasuada. One of the elves stated,

"He has been poisoned by seither oil, he needs immediate medical attenti-"

He was cut off by Nasuada. She said, "I want him in a prison cell, you can tend to him there."

Deciding that this was probably the easiest way to help him the elves took him there and began to remove his armor, so they could get to the wound. They cleaned the wound and dressed it. They began to concentrate on their magic and began to chant the words of healing together. After a while, they managed to stop the spreading of the poison, but their magic could not heal the wound. Knowing that was all they could do they left.

What they missed was the wound slowly stitching itself back together.


	6. Chapter 6

' _…free_ _ **dom…**_ '

Marius jolted awake and was immediately assaulted by the pain coursing through his body, his eyes squinted shut from the pain, his lower back was on fire. He rolled over and fell off the bed he had been resting on. Landing on his stomach and pushed himself up to his knees. His body gave involuntary spasms as the pain returned every few seconds.

His entire body ached, he could barely see and his body protested all movement. Closing his hand he quickly cast a healing spell and felt his body relax and heal. He drained a portion of his magicka and moved to sit against the wall. He managed to open his eyes and saw that he was a prisoner.

Realizing that his armor and weapons had been taken he sat there in silence. Much to his annoyance, he found himself without a shirt and his lower back was covered with a thick layer of cloth. _'I'll summon someone to get them'_ he mused.

The room he was in was not very large, and he sees the sunlight seeping in through the top. The whole room appeared to be set up quickly and had not been done efficiently. Looking at the entrance he noticed that there was a piece of bread and a mug of water. Slowly moving towards the food, the pain in his back flared up again.

He picked up the bread and took a bite. The bread was fresh and the water tasted clean. At least whoever had captured him had the decency to give him something worth eating. He thought about breaking out of here, but he quickly countered that thought with another saying just to sit back and wait. As he sat there in the silence his mind began to wander and quickly got lost in a memory.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _He ran to the watchtower along with Irileth and five Whiterun guards to confront a dragon. Upon arriving they saw that the tower was alight and turned into rubble. One of the guards stationed there warned them to go back. The dragon soon returned and they started fighting the beast._

 _"Die damn you!" one of the guards shouted as he notched an arrow, and let it loose. The steel arrow flew towards the dragon, only to harmlessly bounce off._

 _The dragon turned its attention towards the guard, and unleashed its fire, lighting the man on fire. He ran around flailing his arms trying to douse the flames, but he quickly died. The smell of his burnt flesh lingered in the air._

 _The dragon commenced circling again as the guards tried to shoot it down. Running to the dead guard he quickly scavenged his bow and seventeen steel arrows. Feeling the air displace behind him he quickly dove to the right, narrowly avoiding the dragon's talons. Notching an arrow, he fired and the arrow missed it intended target but managed to get the beast attention again._

 _The dragon land heavily on the ground a few feet away. It advanced on him and snapped its jaws in is direction, quickly picking up a nearby shield he blocked the attack. But the shield didn't last long, because the dragon jaws clamp down on the shield and tears it from his grasp._

 _The guards suddenly attack from the flanks and began attacking the wings, making large gashes along the membrane, preventing the dragon from any further flight._

 _Opening its maw it unleashed a stream of flames at the nearest person which so happened to be him. Charging towards the dragon he was hit with the full blast of the fire, but it wasn't affecting him much, he could feel the heat. He slid under the dragon's neck and lifted his sword up, it carved its way through scales, muscles and cartilage._

 _The dragon's blood began to pour out like a fountain, covering the ground in gore. It let out one last cry of pain before falling to the ground dead. He began to approach the dragon, and suddenly a drumming sound could be heard within his head, and he stopped moving._

 _The dragon's body burst into flames and the scales and muscle burnt away. Ethereal wisp of orange, blue and yellow leached from the flames and shot towards him. He heard the chanting of a single word "Mirmulnir". He suddenly a great power build up within him, and he did what felt natural, he shouted._

 _'Fus'_

 ** _End of Flashback_**

He was so deep in thought he didn't realize that he was no longer in the tent alone, two elves stood in the room with him. They stood there for some time, until one's patience wore out and they coughed.

His attention shifted to the group, realizing that he was not captured by the empire, but by the very people he had helped. This brought a frown to his face, but quickly composed himself and gave weak smile.

"What can I do for you?"

"We are here to check on your wound" stated the elf on the right.

"I can assure you that I will be fine, there is no need. Your concern is well appreciated, but if you must check I will not stop you."

They approached him and began checking his wound. After a few minutes of checking for any signs of the wound.

"How is this possible? The seither oil should have left a permanent scar." One of the elves asked in astonishment.

Sighing as he turned to face him. "I spent a good amount of my time studying the Restoration school." He lied.

The elves seemed to be intrigued by this school but decided to hold their questions when Nasuada entered. They bowed to her before stepping back.

"Lady Nasuada. How can I be of service?"

She walked over to him

"I trust that you slept well" she asked sitting down into a chair.

"Yes, thank you for asking."

Nasuada looked at him, then back at the elves. Who simply nodded and left the tent.

"Marius, I believe that you neglected to share some important things about yourself."

Marius sighed and simply nodded.

"Yes it is true that I withheld some vital information concerning myself from you and the others."

"As leader of the Varden, I like to be well informed of the capabilities of others. Managing to cause a dragon and its rider is not usually in the capabilities of magicians, nor is for common soldiers to be able to go toe to toe with a rider while atop a dragon or survive a fall from the back of a dragon. We both know that you are no ordinary soldier. So I would like to know as to why you saw fit to keep the information to yourself?"

"Well I guess I should be truthful if I wish to remain correct?" He received a nod from Nasuada.

"Hmm, where to begin… I guess that I should start with the fact that I am from another world."

The elves shared a look of doubt, but they kept their moves shut. Nasuada managed to keep her façade up but her eyes displayed a small amount of shock and disbelief.

"If that is true then why are you here?" Nasuada questioned.

"Truthfully I do not know, I was meditating when I was suddenly whisked away and was dropped into the middle of your war. I am actually quite curious myself-"

Marius was abruptly cut off when Arya barged into the room and ran across the room grabbed him by the neck. "What did you do?!"

The other elves had to pry her off of him. Once they had gotten her away from him they released her. Arya remained staring hatefully at him he simply ignored her. His hand rubbing his throat as he moved to the opposing side of the room and sat down.

He coughed, "Well, that was quite the reaction."

"You were saying."

"Yes, as to why I withheld information is because back I am considered incredibly powerful and it was nice for a time to be unknown to anyone, but I can't help myself trouble always seems to find me, not that I actively try and avoid it. Whether it be because of a prophecy or just a bandit raid."

Silence fell over the group.

"Lady Nasuada," he asked, "May I inquire as to why am a prisoner?"

"I have to decide whether or not you are a threat to the Varden. You are a prisoner because I see fit."

"A _threat_?" Marius said lowering his gaze towards the ground his voice lowering.

"Yes, you are a threat"

He sighed and his inner dragon took over and the temperature in the room skyrocketed and he stood up and snarled. "I show you a threat!"

Before anyone could react the tent his hands lashed out and set the tent on ablaze. All those present ran out as fast as they could. Outside it was utter chaos as soldiers were running back and forth trying to put out the blaze or arming themselves.

A soldier ran towards the group. His mouth started moving but no sound came from his throat.

"What is it?"

"My lady, the prisoner's belongings have disappeared."

"What do you mean disappeared?"

"I was examining at the weapons and armor, there was a bright flash and a horned creature stood before me and took the belongings and then they vanished right before my eyes!"

The ground shook as Saphira landed on the ground next to the group and Eragon dismounted her.

"What is going on?" Eragon asked.

Arya spoke, "Marius set the tent on fire."

All eyes turned back to the tent as it collapsed to the ground and continued to burn. Slowly a silhouette could be seen in the flames getting up. Slowly the figure turned to them and began to approach. Completely unaffected by the flames licking their body.

Stepping out of the flames Marius conjured his armor. The armed soldiers ushered battle cries and charged at him, some of the elves joining them.

Swirling violet and black spheres appeared in his hands and crushed them together and launched it forward. A portal opened and out charged dremora lords, fully armored and prepared to do their master's bidding. They tore through the ranks of Varden soldiers, man and elf alike.

Saphira charged directly at Marius.

Gol Hah Dov

A wave of energy slammed into Saphira. She stood still for a minute before growling and turning towards the group. She unleashed a torrent of flames directed at them those who did not dodge fast enough were engulfed with blue flames, all that remained was calcified remains.

"Saphira what are you doing?!" Eragon shouted in outrage.

Her attention was then diverted to Eragon and lunged at him maw spread wide. One of her clawed paws slammed Eragon to the ground and stared at him.

"Kill him."

Saphira shook her head and cried out in protest. But as soon as it ended she did as she was told. Those present looked on in horror as Saphira killed her rider. Saphira released from the spell saw what she had done simply collapsed to the ground and let out a cry of anguish.

* * *

"Marius", Nasuada spoke.

"Hmm…oh sorry got lost in my thoughts." He said before shaking his head clearing his thought, before turning back to Nasuada, "Is there another way I could prove that I am your side and not a threat?"

"No, there is not." She stated.

"Well then, where is the dragon? I wish to speak to her."

They looked in disbelief, but Arya face became contorted and held a distant look, he guessed she was communing with the dragon. They left the cell and went and sat in the middle of Nasuada's large tent. It wasn't a long wait before the dragon's head entered the tent.

" _Drem Yol Lok, Dovah_. I do not believe we have been properly introduced, _Zu'u los Dovahkiin_."

The dragon's head perked up and its eyes widened. Arya turned to Saphira.

"You can understand what he is saying?"

" _It's interesting he speaks words of ancient power, I understanding their meaning, but I cannot explain it. I think it would be like trying to explain the meaning of the ancient language to another using only the ancient language."_ She summarized _._

Marius gaped at the dragon. Then smiled, not a true smile, but a dark smiled as if the situation amused him.

" _Dovah het nis tinvaak_. You have no voice!" he said as he started chuckling, getting glances from everyone.

"Dragons cannot speak like we do." Said Arya.

"Yes, those may be the rules here, but it's not the same case for me."

"You're not making any sense" Arya said, rubbing her temples. "What do you mean not the same case for you?"

" _Zu'u los ni do daar lein._ "

"What did he say?"

 _"He says he is not of this world."_

"But that's not possible."

" _Zu'u los Dovahkiin. Zu'u los fron benix jul ahrk dovah._ "

There was a long silence. Arya became impatient waiting for Saphira to translate what he had said.

"What did he say?"

"… _He claims to be kin among man and dragon_ "

"But that's not possible?"

Crossing his arms over his chest.

" _Zu'u lost sos ahrk sil do dovah ko joor kopraan_ "

" _He claims to have the blood and soul of dragon in a man's body._ "

"How can this be?"

"As I said earlier, I'm not of this world. Different world, different rules."

"Then, what exactly brought you here then?" Nasuada interjected, noticing Arya was becoming increasingly agitated.

"I'm not entirely sure. I was meditating out in the wilderness alone, separated from the world. There was a bright light and a magical sphere appeared when I approached it suddenly launched itself forward and slammed into my chest. Next thing I know I am coming to in the middle of your war."

"Why were you separated from world?"

Just as she had finished her sentenced his muscles visibly stiffened, and his emerald eyes became distant. Shaking his head, he returned to normal.

"That is personal information. But currently I wish to aid you in your war."

"And why is that?"

"Simply because I want to. I have fought in wars already. I learned quite a fair bit in my short time here, and I choose to come and aid the Varden. I could have easily sided with Galbatorix and his empire. Perhaps if I had, Saphira here could be dead or already in the king's clutches."

"You say that as if dragons are not that easy to kill or capture."

He shrugged.

"Dragons are most certainly not easy to kill. Nor do I enjoy the thought. But it was what I was born to do and gets easier with each experience."

"Born to do?"

"I am Dovahkiin." He said.

"What does that mean?"

" _Dovah_ meaning dragon and _kiin_ meaning born. In the normal tongue, it translates to Dragonborn, which is what most people call me. The dragons prefer to use Dovahkiin as my name, which has a completely different meaning. All dragon names consist of three words.

" _Dov. Ah. Kinn_."

 _"Born Hunter of Dragonkind._ " Saphira interpreted.

Arya took a minute to grasp what he was saying. When she realized what he was saying her hands flew to her sword.

"You're a dragon hunter!" seethed Arya.

"I am what I am. What better to fight one dragon than another one? I am the same as my Dovah brethren, master of the Thu'um. Should Dovah fall by my hands, I claim their soul as my birthright. Each soul I take the greater and stronger I become. Not that I overly enjoy killing my brethren, but should it need to come to that I have no quarrel."

"You are a monster! Hunting them down as mere beast! I shall kill you where you stand!"

Arya drew her sword and closed the distance between them. Once she was close enough to strike, she swung her sword towards his neck. As the blade came within inches of the Marius's neck, it was stopped.

Protecting his neck, was an eerie purple blade. It had wisps of a fog like fire flowing across the blade. He was watching her carefully, but he had a cocky smile on his face. This time he would not hold back against her. Pushing her blade to the side, and extending his blade towards her.

With lightning fast strikes, Arya and Marius clashed. With each strike their swords where creating weak air currents, every time Arya tried a new attack it was easily deflected. She was having a difficult time getting past his defenses. She was trying to kill him, but he appeared to be toying with her, that constant smirk on his face was starting to piss her off.

His blade was wicked and jagged, he struck with speed and power. Their blades were but a blur to a humans eyes. His speed was beyond that of a human, it was as if she was fighting a master elven duellist. Thinking that with his injury he couldn't keep this up for a long period of time. She swiped her blade at his torso. He caught the blade with his sword.

Unlocking their blades, she stepped back. She feinted to the left, but he didn't move. She leaps back at him, and they clashed again. His sword suddenly vanished out of thin air, causing her to lose balance and step forward. Without his blade, he was open to all attacks. She swung her sword at him.

Ducking under her sword, Marius kicked out her legs from under her, causing her to fall. Quickly stepping on her wrist to prevent her from slashing at him. A scream issued from Arya as she cast a spell to stop him. "Jierda!" The spell washed over him without affecting him. Putting more pressure on her wrist, leaned down towards her, their faces inches apart and looked into her eyes.

"I wouldn't suggest doing that again if I were you!" Marius stated as he started to stand back up, he turned to look at Saphira.

"I will allow Saphira to look inside my mind, and decide if I am worthy to stay and if not I shall leave."

" _So be it_ " He suddenly felt a great pressure in his head, knowing that it was Saphira he removed his defenses and gave her entry. He felt her comb through his memories, as he guided her through. Leading her through his many daunting tasks and challenges.

What he wasn't aware of was that Arya had managed to snake her way into his mind. She only sees small fragments of what he was showing Saphira without being detected. The memories stopped moving, Arya saw hundreds of people in a town. The skies were clear, and they all were living their lives.

The memory began to change. The skies darkened, fire rained from the sky, and the people surrounding disappeared. The town was a burning ruin black smoke filled the air, the burnt bodies of the people were strewn across the town. She was suddenly pushed from his mind. When she returned to her body she stumbled for the briefest of moments, before recomposing herself.

"Well is he trustworthy Saphira?" Nasuada asked.

" _He stays. He is trustworthy_."

Marius nodded and looking to Saphira said " _Zul kosil lok avok_ ", and turned and left the tent without hesitation. Arya turned to leave as well but was stopped by Saphira.

" _What were you thinking?_ " She asked angrily.

* * *

The sheer force of the mental shout, visibly caused Arya's face to scrunch up in pain. She turned back to face Saphira.

"I was getting information on him. Why did you force me out?"

 _"Because I will not allow another to enter the mind of one of my kin without their permission."_

"You would protect one that has hunted and killed dragons!"

 _"He is who he is, I cannot hold that against him. If dragons fall by his hand they must suffer the consequences."_

"Yes, but he is dangerous and should not be allowed to move freely."

 _"What right do you have to judge him for his past? Do you know him? Do you know his life?"_ She paused, _"Your people were not kind when you destroyed our eggs."_ She said as some smoke came out her nostrils.

"That was another time, a time that should be forgotten."

 _"Yet it is a large part of our shared history, it created the riders."_

There was a long silence before Arya spoke.

"Yes, but our war ushered in a new an age of peace" taking a breath to calm herself before she continued "But the riders and the dragon race is all but gone. And now we have a man that has possibly killed dozens of dragons. How do you expect me to work with such an abomination?"

 _"We both know, that we need all the help we can get."_

"We know so little about hi-" she was cut off by Saphira

 _"You may know little, but he showed his memories. I will not speak a word of it."_

"Why not tell me?"

 _"He has shown me what he's done, and what he has endured. He asked me not to speak of what I saw. If you wish to know, you will have to ask him yourself."_ Saphira paused, before continuing, _"Would you like it if someone were to simply find out about your time in Gil'ead?"_

Arya's body became rigid and tense and the mention of her time in Gil'ead _._

"So be it. I shall speak with him."

 _"I have nothing else to say,"_ Saphira said as she turned and walked away.

She stood there for a moment, before leaving for her tent. She had to write a report to Queen Islanzadi, her mother. The queen would want to hear all about this dragon hunter. As she made her way through the camp, humans and urgals alike moved out of her way as she passed them.

When she arrived at her tent, she was greeted by silence. Her tent was well furnished, it had a large bed, a desk, a few shelves and a chest. She moved her desk and sat down, and pulled out her quill and paper. She dipped the quill into some ink and began to write her report. – _There is a stranger helping the Varden, who claims to be a dragon hunter, as well as kin to both man and drag-_ …

Arya's hand froze as her mind went over that last fact again. ' _Kin of both man and dragon_ ' She had heard that before, but where. Almost immediately her mind returned to the Agaetí Blödhren when Blagden gave them a prophecy. ' _By beak and bone,_ _Fate is rewritten._ _A timeless hero,_ _Fierce and noble,_ _Kin of both man and dragon..._ '

Fear began to sweal in her chest the second verse was most troubling. A change in fate could end spell disaster for the Varden and the people of Alagaësia.

' _The prophecy of Blagden has begun..._ ' she began to write.

* * *

On the outskirts of the camp, Marius was checking over his armor and weapons. He had summoned them shortly after leaving Nasuada's tent. He watched as the men in the camp scurried along, only to restart the same root again. It was times likes this he liked to think back what it would have been like if he had joined either the Stormcloaks instead of the Imperial Legion. Most of the soldiers he saw were wary of him, his huge frame and armor didn't help at all. Even some of the Urgals and Kull seemed to be wary.

The sun was setting in the distance, he watched as the last of the days light burned out. He sat there for a while listening to the area around him, there were birds singing in the trees, and the occasional howl from wolves in the distance.

Getting up from his spot, he started making his way to his tent. He felt many pairs of eyes watching him from afar but he was used to being stared at. Pushing the tent flaps to the side he entered, finding that nothing had changed in his accommodations. Relieving himself of his armor, he sent it to his pocket dimension where he kept most of the stuff. Changing into some more comfortable garments a pair of black trousers and a plain silk shirt.

He laid down, putting a dagger next to him and let his mind rest, he stared blankly at the roof of the tent thinking. Sure it was a new world full of adventure, but he was alone in this world, _'Just like last time'_ a little voice said in the back of his mind. His mind wandered back to earlier when he was showing Saphira his memories, only what was necessary to prove that he was indeed what he said and that he was here to help.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them he was surrounded by many different figures, their faces were shrouded in darkness. They slowly began to move towards him, he rolled over and got to his feet and conjured a sword. Just in time to block a sword, making a deadlock.

Pushing their blade off of his, he kicked one of the figures in the gut, sending them sprawling to the ground. Another figure attacked from the side slashing at his legs, which did manage to make contact but did little to stop him. He switched his blade into a reverse grip and slashed the figure's neck, killing them. He turned around and punched another in the face, breaking their nose with a _crunch_. Quickly followed by thrusting his sword into their chest. One of the hands of the figure managed to climb its way up to his face and rest on his cheek.

The shroud of darkness covering their face was lifted, and to his horror it was Lydia.

"You killed us," she said weakly. He watched as her life faded away in her eyes. Looking up from her body he saw that he was still surrounded, but one by one they started falling to the ground dead. He stood up and surveyed the number of dead bodies. Each one them someone he knew and considered a close friend, they turned to dust before his eyes.

He felt a cool blade against his back and turned to see who wielded the blade. As he finished turning, he came face to face with himself. He looked into his other self, the one before had lost all his humanity, his once vibrant eyes were black and hollow. His opposite plunged their blade into his chest. He felt the blade come out his back, and he looked back to the one before him, a deranged smile was plastered across its face.

He jumped out of his bed and grabbed whatever was nearest to him. His brow had become covered in sweat, his heart drumming inside of his chest. Looking around he realized that there wasn't any danger near him. Apparently, the daedric prince Vaermina had decided to torment his mind, yet again for refusing her.

Placing the dagger back in its sheath, he wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand. Even after many years of dealing with these accursed dreams, he usually gets a good night's rest.

Putting some clothes on he went outside for a walk, the sun had yet to rise. Deciding that he should get away from prying eyes he made his way to the outskirts of the camp, and moved into the open field and sat down.

The morning breeze cut through the grass creating relaxing sounds such as the wind blowing through the high grass and the crickets in the background as it cleared his mind. He sat there for several minutes before laying on his back. As he lay there, he remembered his battle with Murtagh and his dragon and getting stabbed. It wasn't that he hadn't been stabbed before, after years of experiences it was rare for a blade to break his defenses, but he wasn't accustomed to fighting others on the backs of dragons. He concluded that the blade had pierced in between the folds of his armor and that it had been coated with poison, which is why he had experienced the burning sensation.

Remembering that he had the satchel from the rider and put it in his pocket dimension. Pulling forth the satchel, it landed in his open hand. As soon as the satchel landed in his hand, the drumming of his soul burst out. Looking in all directions he saw that there were no dragons near him. His soul told him that there were dragons but he saw none, turning his gaze back to the satchel he reached in and felt around. Inside was that of many other satchels, but this one appeared to be filled with some sort of rocks.

Pulling one out, it was a dark shade yellow color and that it was glowing from the within. As he brought it closer to his face to get a better look, it burst into flames. Ethereal cords shot from where it burst into flames and were absorbed into his body. When it hit him he was intoxicated by the power that only one thing brought, a _dragon soul_.

This was new information, a dragon soul trapped within a stone, he would have to ask someone for an explanation. Feeling the energy disperse through his body and eventually disappear, looking back at the satchel and the two remaining ' _dragon soul stones'_ he sent it back into the pocket dimension. Needing something to do, he stood up and began to look for the forges.

 _'More'_

He shook his head getting rid of the voice.

It was still early in the morning, so there were very few people awake, so he could not ask for directions. Spending nearly thirty minutes looking around, he finally came across the forges. Upon arriving he could hear the sound of a hammer beating down on metal.

Moving towards the sound, he saw a tall, hulking man with wild black hair hammering down on what appeared to be the hilt of a sword. Approaching the smith, he gave a quick cough to gain the man's attention. Looking up from his work the man turned to look at Marius and placed the hammer in his hand on an anvil.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"In a way I suppose. I was wondering if I could use the forge."

"I take it you're a blacksmith then?"

"Yes, indeed I am."

"Well, in that case, I'm falling behind schedule. There are some broken swords that need fixing and if you like it there are some materials around that can be used to make new ones."

"Thank you. It's been a while since I felt the heat of the forge." Marius said as he removed his shirt and put on an apron.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Horst," he said as he put his hand forward.

"Marius." Taking the offered hand and giving it a shake.

With enough said, Marius went to work. He missed the heat of the forge and the feeling of pounding metal into new shapes. Moving the broken sword pile, he began to repair them. He sent a good amount of time on each blade, restoring it, sharpening the sides then testing them to make sure they would hold up in battle. Putting others that would not in the pile to be melted and forged into new weapons. Moving to the raw material pile, he grabbed some steel and began to work with it, shaping it into a Nordic design.

He spent a good amount of time making the blade. The steel that was given was similar to the most steel used by the blacksmiths of Tamriel, but it was slightly heavier. Placing the blade on the grindstone he sharpened it and wrapped the hilt in leather. Once finished with the blade he placed it on a table, before moving to the next. He repeated the same steps a several times before Horst came over to him.

"By Angvard…" Horst said as he picked up one of the newly crafted blades. Looking over every little detail, and then tested it by swinging it around, testing how well it would hold up.

"This sword is a bloody masterpiece. Where did you learn how to make a blade into such an art?" Horst asked.

"I've had years of practice and travelling around gathering different methods and experimenting with different kinds of material, I've had enough time to refine my art."

"You are clearly a master smith, and you are welcome to come by the forges any day!" Horst said as he replaced the blade on the table with the others.

"I thank you for your kind words." Marius stated, as Horst turned and went back to work.

Marius continued working on blades of his design for hours before he ran out of materials to turn into blades. He left the forge and made his way towards the kitchens.

Arriving at the kitchens, he was assaulted by the smell of hundreds of sweaty men and the sound of hundreds of men. Getting a bowl and filled it up with whatever was in one of the large pots. After filling it he went and sat down at a table near the back, alone. Slowly eating the stew, he was thinking of home. His thoughts were interrupted by cheers, he looked up and saw that the some of the soldiers were crowding around a table.

Finishing his stew, he got up and strode over to the commotion to see what was happening. As he approached he caught sight of a board with pieces with different runes on them. Watching the players for several minutes he started to understand the rules of the game.

"May I join the game?" he asked, producing a small coin purse filled with coins.

"It shouldn't be a problem." One of the men replied.

Sitting down at the table, he was dealt some runes and some of the men put some coins in the center of the table. Feeling the need to add something to the wager, he pulled out a sapphire and a few gold coins and add them to the pile. The soldiers around the table eyed the sapphire with greed.

After several different rounds, the men he was playing with became angry and frustrated. With each round, Marius won he had accumulated quite a fortune, nothing compared to the one he had elsewhere, but for one game, it was good. Reaching for the pile of money that he had just won this would help him get things in this new world. One the soldier's hands lashed out and grabbed his wrist.

"You're cheating!" the man shouted and he began to squeeze Marius's wrist.

"I am not, I just happen to be good at games." Marius stated in a calm voice. "Now please release my wrist."

The man just squeezed harder. Quicker than the man could blink he had received a punch in the face, breaking his nose and sending him to the floor, Marius was suddenly pulled to his feet from behind him. Without hesitation he threw the person behind him on to the table, sending his earnings everywhere, then punched them in the gut.

Pain suddenly flared up in his back, someone had punched him where he had been stabbed and the wound had healed but a bruise was still there. The pain that came with it was enough for him to let loose some on his control, he grabbed the man by the throat and lift him into the air. Everyone around him looked in awe and fear as he easily lifted the man. He threw the man to the side, and sent a fierce glare to everyone else in the circle, they slowly started backing away.

He needed to get out here before these soldiers ended up getting themselves killed, turning he walked out. It was now dark outside and it would be harder for someone to notice him, he used an invisibility spell and left the area.

During the night, there were a series of several strange screeches echo off in the distance. The sounds were heard throughout the entire camp, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their gaze towards the sounds. Everyone knew that there was someone or something killing some manner of hellish creatures out there.

* * *

 **Hey, guys, I know it's been about a month since my last update but I'm back!**

 **Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!** **Anyways you guys know the drill leave a review if you got something to say, be it either feedback or a question.**


	7. Chapter 7

Marius grunted as he sat up into an upright position. Looking around he noticed that he was not in fact in his tent but rather within a forest. Surveying the area around him, he saw that there were deep marks among the trees and on the ground in the surrounding area, as well as burn marks and black blood in the surrounding area. Remembering last night's events and going hunting in the woods. Standing up he moved over to the nearest tree and began to climb.

Reaching the top of the canopy, he overlooked the landscape before him trying to get his bearings. He was in a vast forest. The Varden camp was to the south. Looking to the east he watched as the sun began to rise over the peaks of the horizon, illuminating the land in orange and red. He stayed there for a while watching as the earth was bathed in light. Climbing down the tree, reaching the ground he set out to the south.

It didn't take long for him to return camp. Everything was as it was any other day, patrols and shouting. He made his way through the camp, he passed some elves who appeared to be going through some kind various stretching poses, and he passed them without a second thought. He came to an abrupt stop when something caught his interest.

There were several people were practicing what appeared to be this worlds form of magic. From a distance he sat and observed them, taking small mental notes about a few things. It was strange the fact that the magic did not originate from aetherius, but rather came from one's owns power and life-force.

Some of the spellcasters noticed and stopped what they were doing and stared at him.

A woman stepped forward and made her way towards him. She was quite the individual, startling blue eyes not uncommon among the Nords of Skyrim but the only difference was her black hair. Along one of her arms was a golden shaped snake bracelet. She held an air of authority.

"What is it? What do you want?"

Marius hummed, "I simply wish to observe."

She regarded him briefly before demanding, "Why are you spellcaster?"

"In a manner of speaking yes." He answered. Mages, wizards, spellcaster all relative meanings, one who can use magic. "I was told that I have the potential to be one."

She was quiet for a moment before plucking a stone from the ground and placing it in his hand then gesturing to the stone and saying, "Then make this stone rise."

He stared at it for a moment before saying, "I do not know the words." Some of those that were there chuckled at his lack of knowledge. If only they knew.

"The words are Stenr Reisa _._ " One of the other members shouted. Marius nodded in thanks.

" _Stenr Reisa._ "

Marius felt a small strain in the back of his mind as the stone remained still. Saying it again the stone began to wobble and slowly rise from his palm. It lasted only a short time before falling back down into his hand.

Some spellcasters around him laughed while others looked sympathetic.

He caught sight of a large rock nearby, placing the stone in his pocket he turned to the rock.

He sighed and casually lifted his hand pointed it at the stone and cast the telekinesis spell, his hand began to glow orange and the stone lifted off of the ground and then he pulled it towards him.

Reaching out he grabbed the rock out of the air and turned back to the woman and the group.

The woman had donned a look of pure shock.

Looking around he noticed that the other 'spellcasters' shared the same look.

"Yo-You just performed magic without the use of the ancient language!" She exclaimed eyes wide and mouth agape, voicing the collective thoughts of all those around him.

Marius glanced to his hand then back at her, thinking to himself whether or not he should tell them that he uses a different sort of magic.

"How!"

He simply stared at her. Some of these spellcasters before him had potential, how much was another question. He might have been the Arch-mage back in mages guild where his extensive knowledge and experience helped him master spells and create some others. Here in this new world, his magic might be powerful, but he knew so very little about the magic of this world.

From what he had read magic here was rare, unlike the Tamriel where just about anyone knew some form of basic spells such as healing and flames. Here in Alagaesia most of the people who had magic were either killed or forced to swear loyalty to Galbatorix. While there were other races here that used magic, but one only stood out among them, the _elves_.

According to what he had learned from the scrolls and tomes he had read the elves, most of them were gifted with magic. They had a deeper knowledge of magic compared to the other races and were considered wise and highly intelligent. As well as they lived for vast amounts of time. But, the elves of this land apparently withdrew into their borders at the end of the dragon rider war, and the rise of Galbatorix.

He didn't have anything against wood elves, dark elves or even elves in general. It was just the high elves, hailing from Summerset Isle, these elves were the most gifted in the arcane arts out of all the races, and some of largest superiority complex, egos, and stuck up attitudes. He had the most experience with these elves, probably because they were the most notable members of the Thalmor. He could always ask the elves that were among the Varden to teach him the magic. As long as they did not turn out to be like the Thalmor, he shouldn't have a problem with them. Except for ' _Arya_ ', she seemed to despise him simply for existing, for being who he was. She would probably sooner attack him then aid him.

If they refused to teach him, in that case, he could only be taught by those who were before him. There was much to be desired in his opinion he would still rather have the elves, but learning is still learning. But then again, he did know Angela and Elva perhaps they could teach him.

"It's a unique gift I acquired years ago." He lied, if the information that he came from another world wielding unknown magic became a public knowledge it could cause chaos. If he taught the wrong person and they went out and started talking where they learned it. Eventually, people would come to him expecting him to teach them his magic, some would ask others would expect to be taught, after all, he had seen it before having been arch-mage. Marius turned around and walked away dismissing the shouts for him to come back.

Returning to his tent he went inside and pulled out the chair, and placed it outside. Marius sat down and pulled out his tattered journal and decided to continue working on some of the magic formulas he had been working on.

It was truly remarkable how much time he had spent on some of these projects. Most of the projects came to him during his times of meditation, others seemingly appeared in his mind for no reason at all. Many of the spells were combat-related increasing one's senses or inhibiting another's senses. Others could simply be used for transportation, such as teleportation.

Some of these spells could be described as unethical or labeled under the term of dark magic. Binding a soul to another body. He wasn't sure where he got the idea but it had suddenly sprung up within his mind. When that happened he had been horrified that his mind had come up with such a thing. He had tried to forget about it but there was an unending desire to create the spell. Eventually, he did create the spell but he never used it for any reason it was just another spell added to his vast collection of knowledge.

His musing came to an abrupt halt when he sensed someone standing in front of him. Looking up he saw that it was Angela who stood over him staring down at him, more specifically his journal.

Before he could act her hands shot forward and snatched the book from his hands. She turned around and began skimming through the pages of the book, seemingly enthralled by the contents of the book. She started walking away. Doing the first thing that came to mind he charged a spell and shot her with it.

She simply froze up and keeled over. The paralysis spell was always handy, as well as quite amusing to watch people make strange poses while being paralyzed. A smile made itself known to the world as he approached the paralyzed woman, squatting down he plucked the book from her hand.

"Looks like you got more than you bargained for, huh."

Marius knew that while she under the paralysis spell she could not respond to him. So he promptly cast the counterspell, and Angela regained her ability to move around. She sat up and glared at him while appearing to be pouting.

"You could have simply asked and I might have imparted some knowledge to you. Though in the future please refrain from taking my property without my permission, there are things in there that are not meant for mortal eyes. Now I propose an exchange in knowledge."

Angela seemed to consider his words before nodding. Marius stood up and offered Angela with hand, which she accepted and they made their way back to discuss the exchange.

* * *

Not long after Angela had left Marius received a summons from the Varden leader. Deciding that it was in his best interest to just get it over with, he immediately made his way to Nasuada pavilion. Upon entering he caught a glare from one of the guards, who had been here last time. He turned and addressed Nasuada. Going against his own beliefs he bowed his head slightly.

"Lady Nasuada, you asked for me."

Nasuada looked up from the map she been hovering over. She seemed pleased that he was at least somewhat willing to show a small amount of formality towards her.

"Yes, Marius thank you for coming on such short notice. Please have a seat."

He nodded at her before moving to sit in a chair that was vacant. He looked at her waiting for her to explain his summoning.

"Marius I have two reasons as to why I called you here. Firstly, I received a request from the leader of Du Vrangr Gata to speak to you.

Marius confused, tilted his head to the side, "Who?"

"A group of spellcaster that is allied with the Varden."

He nodded, the group he had spoken to earlier.

"But, that can wait I wish to discuss a possible mission for you."

He nodded, his interest was piqued a mission was definitely what he needed, something to do. Sitting around could only keep him around for so only. His desire to go and explore the new world would eventually overcome him, his inner adventure could only wait so long.

As well as get him away from the group of spellcasters.

"What would you have me doing?"

"It is a scouting mission, I need some more information on the village that we will be driving the empire out of."

"Am I going alone?"

"No, I will be sending a small detachment with you."

"Who will be accompanying me?"

"No one of importance."

"Of course. When are we departing for this mission?"

"Within the next day. I would suggest resting up before the mission starts."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Lady Nasuada," Marius said as he gave another head bow before turning and walking out of the tent.

Vague answers that are all he really received from her. She was avoiding giving him information. Marius hated being given vague answers, though he would be a hypocrite if he denied that he has done the same.

* * *

The following day, Marius donned his armor and left his tent and went to find the group he had been assigned to.

He asked some soldiers where he could find the company. Soon after he found a large group of men and walked towards them. They were preparing to leave. As soon as he got there, he approached the captain and reported in. Who shouted at him for making them wait, all he would say to this man was "Yes, sir" as the captain continued his rant.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a Khajiit. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was, in fact, an elf, an extremely hairy elf. It was strange back in Tamriel it was rare to see an ungroomed elf, they seemed to need to be perfect all the time.

"Where is your horse?" the captain asked. Shrugging, Marius stated that he wasn't given one, so they gave him a horse and they set out.

He rode alongside the hairy elf, whose name he learned was Blödhgarm. He seemed to be one of the more friendly elves he had met here, which in reality in this world was only two.

After days of riding the horses, they finally reached their destination. The village held barely over a dozen houses. The villagers had long since vanished, probably because of the apparent advancing Imperial forces.

They split up into small groups to move further in and survey the area and possibly find any of the villagers who might have stayed behind.

Marius went along with Blödhgarm. They were making their way towards one of the buildings when Marius suddenly spoke.

"It reeks of death here."

"You can smell too?" Blödhgarm said seemingly surprised.

Marius sighed, "This is not the first time I've been in situations like this."

They opened the doors on one of the houses. As they entered they were hit by the smell of decomposing bodies. Mounted on spikes were heads of people who may have once occupied this home. They could hear the buzzing of the insects over the bodies. They moved to the bodies they turned them over.

"Judging by how far the bodies have decomposed we are about two weeks late."

Blödhgarm suddenly perked up. Marius turned and observed him as his ears twitched at the slightest sound.

"We need to regroup right now!" Blödhgarm said a hint of worry had leaked into his voice.

Marius breathed in as he extended his own senses to see what Blödhgarm had spooked. Realizing what had been felt by the elf. He didn't need to be told twice, they both bolted from the house and shouted for everyone to regroup.

Most of their platoon had heard their calls to regroup. Some stragglers were just arriving while others had yet to return.

The captain stomped up to them and started shouting about insubordination, and how they were trying to relieve him of power. Marius and Blödhgarm tried their best to rectify the situation. But a sudden shrilling sound of laughter brought them back to the more important situation.

Arrows began to rain down onto them.

"Ambush!" One of the soldiers shouted.

Marius managed to erect a ward to block some of the arrows. Other soldiers raised their shields to block arrows. Some were not as lucky. As they were returning to a defensive position. The laughter returned and was followed by the sound of boots against the ground. Soldiers from the empire charged forward at them. Killing those unable to react fast enough.

A skirmish started, their captain was an incompetent leader, how a man such as he rose to command was beyond him. He was far from being worthy of command, he threw the lives of his men away with straightforward attacks, which ended in a massacre. When the battle seemed to be going in the enemy's favor he gave an order to the troop when everyone looked back the captain had disappeared. The coward!

With their forces severely diminished, the odds were against them. For every single enemy death, four of the varden died. They were fighting men that had been tampered with, they could not feel any pain. If you hurt one of them, they would just start laughing at the wound.

Marius was having no trouble killing these sort of things, for he has fared far worse back home. The hairy elf, whose name was Blödhgarm was having no problem either, but as the battle progressed the seemingly unending empire soldiers were starting to wane on them.

"Stick together!" Blödhgarm shouted, ducking under a sword. Bringing their own weapon up, and bringing it down onto the man's head. The sword went through the steel helm and crushed the skull, small grey chunks stuck to it as he pulled it free. Bringing his blade across another man's neck, he detached the head in a clean swing, before moving to his next target.

A spear flew through the air past his head. Marius's hand snapped up and grabbed the spear. Spinning it around he launched it back the way it came. Spearing an enemy soldier, who appeared to be an officer. The death of that man seemed to cause some chaos to spread within the enemy ranks, but it was minimal. Even with their temporary confusion, the laughing dead kept advancing, ignoring all pain. But the chaos and confusion quickly turned into fury.

They charged in shouting battle cries in rage.

Blocking an incoming blow, he based his attacker with his shield, knocking their weapon from their grasp sending it clattering to the ground. Before cutting their head off.

Marius was being overwhelmed by the number of soldiers, deciding to try and kill them with his magic. Some of the spellcasters that had been assigned to the mission said that they seemed to be more resistant to magic. Charging up a flame spell, he burned the soldiers that had surround him. Yet they issued no cries. Leaving nothing but calcified remains.

"Don't get separated!" A soldier shouted.

The endless assault of the enemy was starting to wain on the varden forces. They were slowing being driven back if this kept up there would be no choice but to retreat. Marius turned to Blödhgarm. The signal for retreat was given.

"I can slow them down while you regroup!"

Looking confused and shocked, Blödhgarm spoke.

"What!? No man can stop an army! We stic-"

Interrupting him, Marius shouted over him.

"Just **GO**! Find some cover!" His eyes burning with hunger and bloodlust. Heading his words Blödhgarm shouted for the men to regroup at the church at the center of the town.

Turning his attention back to the enemy. Marius called upon his magicka, and a cyan glow appeared in his hands, waving them in arcane patterns, he cast the Dragonhide spell. His body shone in the color before becoming a faint outline.

Pulling a large blue vial from his pocket dimension. He uncorked it and tilted his head back drank the entire thing, almost immediately feeling his magicka reserves refile. Dropping the vial on the ground, shattering, as his gaze met with the approaching soldiers.

"The Laughing dead, they call you…" He spoke evenly as he faced the advancing enemies.

The soldiers were confused. One man standing in their way. Why would he stay when all others flee? How would one man stop a small army? Perhaps he simply wished to die. But looking at him they could see that he did not fear them, the way he looked at them was that of predator preparing to deliver the killing blow to its prey.

"Ha! I've fought many creatures of the undead…"

Slowly the air around them began to fill magic. It was thick and powerful, you could almost taste it.

"…the lack for fear of pain or death does not make you undead…"

Their confusion turned into uneasiness, they were having second thoughts against fighting this man, yet they could not change their minds, orders are to be followed.

"…and you are nothing compared to them…"

Waving his arms again in arcane patterns, lightning arcing along his forearms. Dovahkiin opened his eyes, which were glowing gold. He spoke with a voice full of power causing the ground to quake, which could only be described as divine.

" **You shall draw breath no longer!** "

It was upon this statement mean they realized they were dealing with no mere man.

" _Strun Bah Qo_ "

The very ground shock, causing many of the advancing enemies to stumble. For a few short moments, the entire area became deathly quiet. The skies turned dark as clouds formed almost instantaneously. Once a light breeze turned into powerful gusts of wind. The clouds let loose a full blown deluge, turning the once dry ground into thick mud. The sky rumbled, and the heavens unleashed their fury upon the land.

Bolts of lightning fell from the skies, striking soldiers left and right. Smiting them where they stood.

Having little choice left, the enemy soldiers charged into the heart of the storm shouting and laughing their battle cries. Some slipping on the muddy ground and getting trampled by their comrades.

Raising his arms into the skies, Marius called forth bolts of lightning down upon himself, yet causing no harm to him. Only increasing the potency of his spell.

After mere moments of gathering power, he unleashed the tide of magic. Dark amethyst bolts of lightning shot out of his hands, passing through several ranks of the soldiers incinerating them. Electrocuting those further back from the sheer power shown and the minor amount of the lightning that reached them.

Once emptying his magical reserves he discharged his spell, he drew his sword and shield charged into the fray of the battle, uttering a battle cry.

"Zun Haal Viik"

The weapons that were in the hands the charging laughing dead were ripped from their grasp and thrown a distance away from the wielders. They continued to charge without their weapons, only to be cut down when they got to close.

Reaching another soldier he swung his sword in a downward arc bisecting the man from shoulder to waist. Bashing another man disarming, then kicking him in the chest, and moving to the next enemy. The laughing dead managed to surround him and he shouted again.

"Iiz Sle-"

Halfway through his shout, his voice faltered. One of the laughing dead had managed to strike him in the back of his head. While his helmet did its purpose and provided protection, softening the blow. He fell to the ground, immediately several soldiers began to beat down upon him. He felt a familiar tingle within his mind. A shiver went through his mind before he felt it spread down his back and to the rest of his body. Dread filled his being. _Shit!_

His mind went blank and his instincts took over, with only one purpose.

To satiate his inner dragon.

To destroy.

To win.

To kill.

 _Kill… Kill… Kill them all!_

A blood-curdling cry eclipsed the sound of thunder and echoed over the battlefield. A potent wave of killer intent followed the cry.

Everyone felt a shiver run down their spine and involuntarily took a step back.

Without a second thought, his body moved. His shield dropped to the ground, forgotten. Waving through more arcane patterns, swirling violet vortexes opened up around him. Appearing from them were several figures, all donning the same twisted armor that Marius was. They stepped forward and drew their great swords before charging into the fray, shouting battle cries.

"A challenger is near!"

"You meet your end, mortal!"

"I will feast on your heart!"

They viciously tore into the enemy. Their great swords tore through weapons, shields, and armor. Blood coated the wicked blades. With each strike, the soldiers received they would burst into flames for a short time. Arms, legs, and heads were severed from bodies, bisecting men from the torso, it did not matter to them, just to kill those who opposed their summoner.

There were no cries from the laughing dead, as they felt no pain. They simply died. The unholy blades were created with the sole purpose of killing, to kill anything.

Every so often one of dremora lords would be struck down would shout out before disappearing in a vortex.

"It cannot end like this!"

"No! Not by a mortal!"

Blood and guts covered the ground. The water that had begun to cover the ground turned red.

Marius was hunched over, his arms limply hanging at his sides carelessly. His sword arm barely maintaining his grip on his blade. With a sudden burst of speed, Marius charged in after them.

His sword cutting through the bodies of soldiers.

 _Again…_

An ice spike launched into a skull

 _Again…_

Ferociously tearing into the soldiers.

 _Again! Again! Again!_

Even against the vast number of soldiers from the empire, the dremora lords showed little signs of slowing down. When the empires numbers began to dwindle and it was becoming clear who the victor would be, the order was given for a full retreat. A horn wrung over the field. All the soldiers still alive turned tail and began to flee and regroup.

Grinning behind his helmet, he grabbed the nearest soldier by the head and slammed it into the ground, repeatedly. The man cried out, whether it be in pain or fear no one would know as a sickening crunch accompanied another blow to the ground. The helmet cave and the man's head was crushed.

Blood dripped from his clawed gauntlet as he stood back up. Turning his attention back to fleeing soldiers. He and the daedra began to pursue the stragglers, cutting them down without remorse or mercy.

When the empire had completely pulled its forces out, all that remained was the bodies and the constant sound of rain. Marius raggedly breathed in and out.

A voice whispered inside his head.

 _Good, now dispose of those behind you..._

Marius turned towards the Varden soldiers.

 _Show them your strength…_

He took a few steps forward a bloodthirsty grin across his face hidden by his helmet. Within those few steps, magical runes covered his armor restraining his movements. Magic tendrils shot out from several runes that surrounded him which wrapped around his limbs and body restraining him. He struggled against the bonds but they did not give.

The runes changed color as they took effect, he slowly began to regain control over his body the voice inside his head along with his primal side were subdued and silenced.

 _Noooo… it's too soon…_

The runes disappeared along with their restraints. Marius collapsed to the ground. A faint groan emanated from him as his eyes slowly opened. His vision was a complete mess, there was an impossible assortment of colors barraging his brain causing him to shut his eyes in discomfort. Forcing them open again, still, in discomfort, he looked up from the ground as the last of his vision cleared.

The storm he had summoned still ragged on but it was far less powerful than it had been initially. He shouted.

"Lok Vah Koor"

The once dark skies cleared, leaving only some grey clouds. Coming out their shock, Blödhgarm and the rest of the Varden soldiers. Marius ran up to Marius.

"Are you alright?"

Marius responded with a grunt and gave a few nods of his head.

Blödhgarm gave orders to the men, to pursue the enemy. The enemy forces were but a few small pockets of soldiers still trying to win the battle, which was lost.

The battle ceased as the last of empires forces died, the varden soldiers raised their weapons into the air and cheered in victory. The varden regrouped, they started tending to those who were injured during the battle.

Marius was helping the wounded, casting healing spells on them, tending to the most seriously wounded and then moving to those less grave. He was finishing up when he was approached by Blödhgarm.

"How are you not tired? Nay, how are you not dead!?"

"No, I am exhausted, I just happen to have a large reserve of magical energies." He paused "That and the fact that my magic does not run off my own strength."

Blödhgarm was flabbergast, he had never heard of someone not using their own strength to cast magic.

"Are you capable to teach this method?" he asked his voice full hope and curiosity. Marius hesitated, while he teach the elf before, he thought back to the group of mages. But part of him felt that he could somewhat trust the elf. So he went with his gut.

"Truthfully I do not know if I can teach anyone here." Marius stated, Blödhgarm looked down, feeling slightly dejected, "But who's to say I cannot try to ease your connection so you can perform your spells easier."

"I will perform a minor spell that gives a small boost in magical power. Truthfully, I do not know what will happen to you because you use a different type of magic than me. The effects may vary if anything happens you must inform me immediately. It is your decision whether or not you want this. So, what will it be?"

Blödhgarm paused and gave it some thought. Will the effects may be an unknown the promise of easier flowing magic was quite the offer.

"Do it."

Marius charged up the spell. The spell glowed a vibrant cyan color. Performing the spell a small ball of similar color launched itself at Blödhgarm. It was a strange feeling, a warm feeling overcame him as the spell washed over him. He could feel his magical aptitude increase, it was as if an invisible barrier has been removed.

When the spell finished, he out a shuddery breath. Whatever he had just felt, was beyond what he had ever experienced before.

"T-Thank you for sharing this." He said, mesmerized by the new feeling of his magic.

"It was not a problem." Marius said, "Just make sure to remember that if anything begins to feel strange or becomes harmful, you come and find me immediately. Also, don't forget that you control your power and not the other way around." He warned.

Blödhgarm nodded and left shortly after to go continue to tend to wounded. A few hours and the wounded were done being tended to.

He came across Blödhgarm again, as they gathered up their supplies and the wounded, before departing to return to the Varden.

"That was quite the display of magical and battle prowess," Blödhgarm said giving a small smile.

"Thank you. You weren't so bad yourself, Blödhgarm." Marius replied, grinning.

They started to converse about the good things in life, but the mood was soon killed by a certain Captain. The captain had returned and began ranting about insubordination, ranting about how they all were going to be punished.

The company did not see it that way. Upon the captain return, they began yelling out that he was a coward and did not deserve to be here among them. He tried to defend himself claiming that if they had lost he would have returned to the Varden to report the mission a failure. Eventually, the men grew tired of hearing his sob story and surrounded him and dragged him to the ground, his cries for forgiveness were unheard.

They stripped him of his weapons and armor, leaving him in his breeches. They tied him up and placed him on his horse. A cloth was shoved into his mouth preventing him from speaking.

"Well, that was rather unpleasant."

"It was, wasn't it?" Blödhgarm started "There will be some sort of punishment for him when we get back."

"Well personally, I believe you did an excellent job at rallying the soldiers. If that idiot had continued to lead, we would have lost many more soldiers. He is unworthy of the title of command. I would gladly fight by your side, Blödhgarm."

"You and your honeyed words," Blödhgarm said before they both started laughing.

With rest of the soldiers leaving they mounted their horses. Spurring the horses they soon joined the rest of soldiers on the journey back, while continuing their conversation.

* * *

Shortly after returning to the Varden Marius was summoned to Nasuada's pavilion. Apparently, the reports from their mission had been reviewed and questions had arisen.

Grumbling as he marched his way through the camp to his destination. When he was finally given permission to enter he was surprised to find that the woman from before who was apparently the leader of the group of spellcaster was also there. Apparently, she had ' _politely_ ' asked to see him.

"Lady Nasuada." She nodded at him and motioned for him to take a seat. The woman sat down in another chair.

Marius sighed as he sat down. He knew a conversation was due soon, but he would have liked to some time to relax, especially after his little _slip-up_.

"This is Trianna, the leader of the Du Vrangr Gata, our group of magicians. She said that you already have met, briefly though. She is part of the reason you are currently here." He nodded and waited for her to continue.

"So you're a spellcaster?"

"Yes, I am a spellcaster among other things, but I prefer the term mage."

"And you choose not to share this information because?"

"I don't have a reason, no one asked me if I was able to perform the arcane arts."

"As the Leader of the Varden, being informed of one's capabilities, so is there anything else you would like to inform me of?"

Marius lied and shook his head. Having been a part of the underground, he knew that there are things better left unsaid and in the dark.

She hummed in response, before turning her attention to the other occupant of the room. Who was looking at him rather intently, a strange glint was in her eyes he could not figure out if it was anger or curiosity.

"As I said before she is here to speak to you."

"What is it that I can do for you?"

"As of your recent feats, the Du Vrangr Gata would like to invite you into our ranks."

"I will have to respectfully decline."

"What?! Why?!" Trianna was flabbergast.

"While I have nothing against your group, I simply wish to remain independent."

"But you lack the knowledge of the ancient language. We could teach you."

"To gain knowledge there is often a price to be paid, and knowledge is often traded in return, and I have had enough dealings for knowledge." Memories of black books and an old shaman being impaled all over his body resurface in his mind, his mood souring, "When I required help I will ask for it."

Maintaining his calm outward appearance, he stood up "At your leave Lady Nasuada."

She apparently noticed his change in mood and nodded, he turned and left.

As he was walking through the crowd of the Varden soldiers. He listened to the chatter of the soldiers. Apparently, his expedition had returned early, and many those who were not a part of it probably thought it ended in failure.

 _'It's only a matter of time before the news spreads and then I'll have to listen to more speeches and end up getting dragged into more politics'_ He mused to himself and continued on his path. He paid no heed to those around, passing them with relative ease even with his heavy armor.

Entering his tent, he placed his weapons next to his cot and sent his armor back into his pocket dimension. Leaving himself in a loose hanging shirt along with black trousers.

Sitting down he pulled out his journal he wrote down a few key points of what had happened during his mission with Blödhgarm. Adding a few names of the list people he knows in the Varden and enemies he has fought here.

 _The laughing dead;_

 _These magically altered men have been augmented to no longer experience pain and they manage to survive most fatal wounds. When wounded they begin to laugh maniacally. It is possible they do this to demoralize their enemies. Though strike them in the head or simply removing it does work effectively against them. Though they will eventually succumb to their loss of blood. As well as simply incinerating them works just as well. Blödhgarm was unable to immediately detect them with his magic, perhaps on our next encounter with these men, I shall try to detect them._

 _Blödhgarm;_

 _At first, I mistook him for Khajiit, but as it turned out he was an elf. He is brave, determined and a natural leader. He is willing to put his life on the line by rushing into dangerous situations to simply achieve his goals, something that many people lack. Blödhgarm took command and rallied the company during our fight with this 'undead'. He allowed me to cast a spell that would increase his magical aptitude, how much remains to seen. He is not bad for an elf. All in all, I would not mind him fighting at my side if the occasion should arise._

When he was finished writing in his journal he closed it up and flipped it over. When it reversed he cast a spell and the colors shifted from brown to black. Opening up the book he was greeted by the sights of many of his drawings he had created over the years.

Closing it up he got up he quickly cast a spell over his weapons and left the tent. Using his soul to guide him to his desired destination. Which happened to be Saphira.

Approaching the dragoness, he came up next to her and stood there holding his book and pen. Saphira had turned her head in his direction when he appeared.

"Drem yol lok, greetings Saphira."

" _Greetings, Dovahkiin_."

He decided to try and exploit one of dragon kind's greatest weaknesses.

"I was wondering if you would allow me to take the time to capture your gracefulness in a picture?"

She seemed to be taken back by his question. When she spoke in his head again, he could feel some of the emotions rolling off of her, one on the strongest was vanity.

" _You wish to draw me?_ "

 _'The arrogance of dragons never ceases to amaze me.'_ He thought to himself as he nodded at Saphira and decided to humor her.

"Indeed I do, I find the whole process relaxing. And I would be adding you to the many _beautiful_ sights I have taken the time to observe and take note of."

When he had spoken, a low hum of approval filled the air, " _Very well_ " Saphira spoke and then laid her head back on the ground and went back to rest.

Sitting down on the ground Marius opened up his book and started to draw the dragoness. Quick precise strokes began to cover the page and the form of the dragoness began to take shape. Constantly looking up at the dragon and the surrounding terrain for any changes. Using magic to change the color he needed to draw, as well as cleaning any smudges accidentally created.

He became so focused on his work he ignored the flow of time, as well as the eyes of Varden soldiers that were watching him.

As he worked on his drawing, he was currently thinking about how his recent mission will end up affecting his role in this war. Here he was an unknown variable thrown into a civil war, he had very little connection to anyone here. The sound of steady footfall brought him back. Looking down at his finished creation, he closed the book.

Angela stood before him with a strange smile on her face. Her curly hair blowing about in the wind.

"Hello, Angela, a fine day to see you." He said closing his journal and standing up.

She tilted her head to the side slightly, before she spoke.

"I see that you are back early."

A quick thought passed through his mind, ' _Oh that's why she is here._ ' He decided that he would casually play it off.

"Yes, we were successful and returned early. It was a routine mission."

"That's not what I heard, apparently your company was ambushed by a large group of laughing dead."

He waved his hand nonchalantly, "The enemies' numbers were greatly exaggerated."

"Well from what I've heard, you turned the tide of the battle, unless of course I'm mistaken?"

' _Shit_ ' was all he could think before his arm was clasped in the firm grip of Angela and pulled him in a random direction. Angela pulled him through the entire camp getting many different glances, most of which were in amusement or pity. At some point, he lost feeling in the limb that was in her grasp.

When his arm was released he was forced into a chair inside of Angela's tent. Angela sat in a chair across from him staring intently at him, he stared right back at her.

"I assume you have questions?" he said ending the silence, a squeal of pure joy soon followed. What happened next truly terrified him.

"What is the spell you used?" "How long much energy did you store?" "Where did you store it?" "How powerful are you?" "…" Angela kept rambling questions even though Marius had long since stopped listening and was now drifting off into his thoughts. _'I wonder how Odahviing is doing_.' _'I have to repapply the seals on my armor.'_ ' _How much longer is she going to talk?' 'By the Gods save me!'_

Apparently, the gods decided to be merciful for once, as his pleas were answered in the form of Elva. But it was short lived as she went and sat down next to Angela.

"Please continue Angela." She said as she sat down.

All of his hopes of salvation came crashing down upon him. Those who sat across from him gave amused smiles.

* * *

The varden soldier moved out of the way as they made their way to Nasuada's pavilion. Whether it be out of fear or respect, it mattered very little to them. The guards stationed around it knew who they were and simply let them in without a second glance.

Pushing the tent flap aside they stepped inside. Nasuada was seated on her throne waiting for them. They were alone, save for the guards stationed inside.

They came to a halt in front of her. "Nasuada, you summoned for me."

She nodded before raising a hand and gestured to the guards. Upon seeing the raised hand the guards bowed and left. Now they were alone.

"Yes, I did. I have a mission for you…"

* * *

 **Happy New year everyone. Surprise, I'm back!**

 **I have no excuse as my lack of updates.**

 **Anyways thanks for reading. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I enjoy feedback so if you got a question or something to say leave a review.**


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